Today in Keys History – Jan. 9, 2023
- Keys History Center
- Jan 8, 2023
- 2 min read
1827 – Construction began on the first lighthouse on Sand Key. It was completed in 70 days.
1854 – During the year 1853, 28 ships wrecked on the Florida Reef and another 29 ships arrived in distress. The total salvage awarded by the courts and by arbitration was $174,350.09. The expenses on the vessels, cargoes and repairs totaled $185,750.00.
1894 – Many in Key West were upset by the arrival to the island of 250 Cuban cigar workers. Cigar manufacturers hoped to bring in as many as 500 alien workers in response to a recent strike by Key West cigar laborers.
1913 – The firm of Wm. Curry & Sons had six large schooners – Kenwood, T.W. Dunn, Charles W. Enchcott, Dorothy Bell, Magnolia, and Martha – engaged in the transport of merchandise and material to and from Key West.
1913 – The Rev. Charles T. Stout of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church resigned. He felt he did not have the strength to bear the heat of another summer season or to oversee the construction of a new church to replace the one destroyed in the 1909 hurricane.
1933 – Two carloads of horses arrived at Key West on train No. 75, en route to Havana for the winter racing season there.
1946 – The Navy announced that a submarine squadron consisting of one tender and 10 submarines would be based in Key West. The ships had a total of 1,200 personnel.
1953 – Key West was hit by a severe storm with winds of 55 m.p.h. downtown and rain of 3.38 inches.
1956 – President Dwight Eisenhower left Key West after a 12-day stay to recover his health.
1970 – Alfred L. Rahming, a city employee, was given the Air Force Exceptional Service Award for Heroism for saving Teresa Tucker from drowning.
1976 – Musician Jimmy Buffett held a concert at Mallory Square.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The top of Curry Sons building taken from the Jefferson Hotel C 1900. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
