September 9

The Key West Citizen newspaper offices on Greene Street, ca. 1960.

1882 – The American schooner Wm. L. Farwell, carrying lumber from the Cedar Keys to New York, ran aground in the Dry Tortugas during a storm. The mate and three other men left on a boat to go ashore and were never heard from again.

1919 – A major hurricane passed south of Key West on a west-northwesterly track. Gale or hurricane force winds lasted from 7 a.m. on the ninth until 9:30 p.m. on the tenth, with the highest reaching 150 mph. A barometer reading of 27.37 was recorded at the Dry Tortugas. The category four storm caused more than $2 million in damages.

1964 – At 3:30 in the morning, the Beatles landed at Key West International Airport, greeted by a mob of screaming fans. The group had been scheduled to perform in Jacksonville, but a hurricane diverted them to Key West instead. The wildly popular musicians spent two days at the Key Wester Motel on South Roosevelt Boulevard.

1975 – After a seven-month undercover investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration began making arrests in an investigation dubbed “Operation Conch.” Among the 18 people indicted by the statewide grand jury in Tallahassee were Key West City Attorney Manuel James and Fire Chief Joseph “Bum” Farto.

1986 – The Key West Citizen announced it was building new headquarters on Northside Drive, which would allow the newspaper to modernize and “leap forward into the computer age.” The Citizen planned to make the move from its longtime 515 Greene Street address in approximately one year.

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Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.

Image: The Key West Citizen newspaper offices on Greene Street, ca. 1960. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.