1894 – Key West’s General Abe Sawyer, 41 inches tall and billed as the smallest man in America, spoke in Jacksonville on “The Personality of the Holy Spirit.” Sawyer had chosen employment on the lecture circuit rather exhibiting himself in a circus.
1900 – The citizens of Key West had protested the establishment of a quarantine station in the harbor by the Marine Hospital Service, and the Marquesas Keys were being eyed as an alternative location.
1960 – The Old Island Restoration Foundation was organized with the goal of restoring, maintaining, and promoting the traditional atmosphere and architecture of Key West. The officers were: Reta Sawyer, chairman; Ruth Holtsberg, first vice chairman; Joan T. Knight, second vice chairman; Mary L. Graham, secretary, and J.J. Pinder, treasurer.
1991 – Seahawk Deep Ocean Technology announced its crew had salvaged silver coins, ceramic vessels, and pearls via robot from a Spanish shipwreck in 1,500 feet of water south of the Dry Tortugas. They believed the wreck was sunk by a hurricane in 1622.
1994 – After complaints from Hispanic members, the Ocean Reef Club discontinued a policy that made English the community’s official language.
2004 – The NOAA research vessel Thomas Jefferson was in Key West after having completed a bottom survey of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve, a rich and diverse marine habitat adjacent to one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: A member of the Old Island Restoration Foundation placing a marker on a door for the first OIRF Key West house tour in 1960-61. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.