Today in Keys History – December 13, 2023
- Keys History Center
- Dec 12, 2023
- 1 min read
1886 – Former lightkeeper at Loggerhead Key in the Dry Tortugas and Inspector of Customs at Key West Benjamin H. Kerr killed himself after having grown increasingly despondent over a cancer diagnosis.
1892 – The American schooner Carrie A. Bucnam, sailing from Mobile to Matanzas, wrecked on Southwest Reef at the Dry Tortugas. The vessel was refloated without assistance by jettisoning its cargo of lumber. The wood was not valuable enough to retrieve, so the wreckers let it drift away.
1919 – After an absence of many days, sugar was once again available at Key West. A small shipment of the sweetener had arrived on the island, and grocers were selling it in limited amounts.
1969 – The submarine USS Threadfin (SS 410), docked at Naval Station Key West, was opened for two days of public tours.
1989 – The Fish and Wildlife Service reopened the public comment period on the proposal to list the Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit as an endangered species.
1992 – Florida State football player Corey Sawyer was named to the Associated Press All-American team. Sawyer was a former Key West High star player.
Information compiled by the late Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: USS Threadfin (SS 410) at the pier in Key West circa 1960s. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center
