1825 – The new lightship Caesar, destined for duty at Carysfort Reef, was wrecked and abandoned on Florida’s east coast while being delivered from New York. Wreckers saved the lightship a few days later and took it to Key West for repair.
1924 – The Barnes Sound Bridge at Key Largo was completed. As soon as a small stretch of road was finished near Florida City, this would allow motorists to travel between Dade and Monroe counties.
1942 – The merchant vessel Nicholas Cuneo was sunk 66 miles southwest of Key West by the German submarine U-571.
1947 – The Navy announced it would move its Special Weapons and Devices School from New London, Connecticut, to Key West. The school had a staff of six officers and 17 enlisted men and a normal student population of 16 officers and 150 enlisted men.
1974 – Fire destroyed the La Plaza grocery at 630 Fleming Street and an adjacent store and conch house at 626 and 624 Fleming. An Elizabeth Street home was damaged. The grocery building, across from the Key West Library, originally housed Pierce Bros. Hardware, established 75 years earlier.
1990 – Monroe County Commissioners Doug Jones, Wilhelmina Harvey, Mike Puto, and John Stormont received letters from the militant environmentalist group Earth First! Each letter bore the message “We are here, and we are watching you,” scrawled in black marker.
1994 – A special preview of the Keys-based film “True Lies” was held at the Cobb Theaters in Key West’s Searstown as a fundraiser for the Florida Keys Children’s Shelter. The crowd found the film to be exciting and funny while highlighting the natural beauty of the Florida Keys.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: 630 Fleming St., Key West, ca. 1965; destroyed by fire 1974. Sqr. 49, Pt Lot 2. Photo taken by the Monroe County Property Appraiser’s office. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.