K-T Motors at 1111 Eaton St., Key West, in 1969
1841 – The schooner Walter M. arrived at Key West from the Indian River with 16 Seminole warriors who had been captured by the U.S. Army at Fort Pierce, including the celebrated chief Wild Cat. The prisoners were being removed from Florida to the western territories.
1844 – The brig Cashier, sailing from Havana to New York with sugar, cigars, and tobacco, went aground near Key Largo, about 10 miles from the lightship Florida. Wreckers got the badly-damaged vessel off the reef and took it to Key West for repair.
1898 – The citizens of Key West started a subscription to erect a monument to the victims of the USS Maine buried on the island.
1914 – Dr. J.G. Campbell, Surgeon Dentist, was located in the Campbell Building at 617 Fleming Street, telephone 389. His specialties were gold crowns, bridge and plate work.
1924 – To control mosquitos, Dr. J.Y. Porter of Key West emphasized the necessity of oiling all pools of water that were too large to drain properly or did not evaporate within five days. He urged the city to keep a sufficient supply of oil of the proper consistency for use by residents.
1927 – Residents whose house paint was discolored by the fumes from large quantities of decomposing seaweed decided not to go before the city council to ask for relief from the nuisance. Judge J. Vining Harris had assured everyone that, by his experience, the colors would return to normal as soon as the weed was gone.
1934 – Engine 209 of the Florida East Coast Railway Company was sold to a company in Alabama. The switching engine had been used for many years at Key West, and many engineers said it was the easiest to use.
1966 – Monroe County Mayor Gerald Saunders and Key West Mayor Kermit Lewin cut the ribbon to open the new showroom for K-T Motors on Eaton Street.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: K-T Motors in 1969, 1111 Eaton St., Key West. Photo by the Monroe County Property Appraisers Office. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.