1892 – William Blatchford packed 25,000 pounds of Spanish mackerel in 125 barrels and shipped the fish from Key West to Tampa on the steamer Mascotte. The mackerel had been caught near Key Largo by the schooner Hinds.
1893 – Antonio Huertas died at Key West. It was said Huertas “was one of the most hated and feared desperadoes on the island,” and it was rumored he had killed many men.
1934 – Florida relief administrator Julius F. Stone announced that M.E. Gilfond would take over FERA operations in Key West, replacing B. M. Duncan. Duncan would oversee the construction of new bridges over the water gaps in the Overseas Highway.
1936 – Members of the National Park Commission flew out of Key West to Washington, DC, after having made a survey of the Fort Jefferson National Monument at Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas.
1940 – A human skeleton was found standing upright in a box resembling a sea chest at the rear of 822 Caroline Street in Key West. Upon investigation, authorities learned the skeleton belonged to the local Odd Fellows Lodge, which had used it in rituals.
1961 – Actress Tallulah Bankhead arrived for the Christmas holidays. She was visiting her friend, author and playwright James Leo Herlihy.
1990 – The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the population of Monroe County was 78,024, with 29,073 in Key West. This was a considerable shift from the 1960 Census that reported 47,921 people in Monroe County, of which 33,956 lived in Key West.
Information compiled by the late Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Fort Jefferson and lighthouse in the 1930s. From a collection of photographs taken or collected during the 1930s by the WPA workers in Key West. The Heritage House Collection, donated by the Campbell, Poirier and Pound families. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center