1907 – Two laborers working on the Florida East Coast railroad died after drinking illicit liquor purchased from itinerant bootleggers selling from a “whiskey launch” along the extension line. Four men were arrested for selling the tainted booze.
1943 – Key West Mayor Willard Albury chose Mrs. Vernon Lowe to act as sponsor in the launching of the frigate USS Key West at the American Shipbuilding Company in Cleveland on Dec. 29, 1943. Mrs. Lowe was the sister of Lt. Harold Felton, who had been killed in action.
1958 – The Key West Housing Authority announced that the housing project on Whitehead Street would be named for Robert Gabriel. Gabriel, an African American, served as state representative from Monroe County in 1879 and on the Key West City Commission from 1905 to 1909.
1974 – At the request of U.S. Congressman Dante Fascell, the State of Florida was exploring the idea of making Key West’s Fort Taylor a state park. Fascell had earlier proposed the site be incorporated into the National Park System, but the NPS had no funds to maintain the historic property.
1982 – The Key West Little Major League All Stars defeated West Palm Beach to win the Florida Little Major League crown for the second year in a row.
1994 – For the first time, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park was closed to lobster mini-season, and officials were quite pleased at how well it was going. No lobster-related arrests were made in the park on the first day, versus 105 arrests and 288 warnings across the rest of the Keys.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Cannons on top of Fort Taylor in November 1973. Photo by Raymond L. Blazevic. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.