Today in Keys History – May 7, 2023
- Keys History Center
- May 6, 2023
- 2 min read
1822 – Congress established Key West as a Port of Entry and Joel Yancy was appointed the first Collector of Customs.
1832 – The U.S. Superior Court for the Southern District of Florida opened its session, with Judge James Webb presiding. In the case of the brig Halcyon, the wreckers were awarded 56 ½ percent of the vessel’s selling price, after court costs.
1893 – Three hundred armed men held drills on the southern shore of Key West in preparation for an invasion of Cuba. Later, Cuban revolutionary leader Jose Marti presented an address on Cuban affairs to the island’s residents.
1927 – Cuban President Gerardo Machado was greeted by a large crowd when he boarded the steamer Governor Cobb for his return to Havana after a two-week visit to the United States. He had visited Washington, New York and Chicago during his stay.
1931 – The Adams Dairy of Key West announced it was installing pasteurization equipment and would soon be providing the island’s first sterilized milk.
1940 – The Clyde-Mallory Steamship Company announced that they would cease freight operations effective May 15. Many Key West merchants were dependent on such shipments and were at a loss to find alternative methods of importation.
1941 – Alice Reid Griffin was found guilty of “white slavery” for bringing two women from Georgia to work as prostitutes at her Howe Street brothel in Key West, in violation of the Mann act. She was sentenced to three years in prison.
1946 – In the Democratic Primary Bernie C. Papy was re-elected as the state representative and Gerald Saunders was elected for the first time to the Monroe County Commission.
1955 – Professor Richard Aldrich and students from the University of Miami investigated a series of Native American graves on Big Coppitt Key, at the site of what was to be the Southern Keys Cemetery.
1973 – The Eduardo Gato house, at 1327 Duval St. in Key West, and the Sand Key Lighthouse were added to the National Register of Historic Places.
1974 – A fire broke out in the early morning at an Ocean Reef Club grocery store, and it spread to other businesses in the resort community’s shopping center. The entire two-million-dollar complex was destroyed.
1976 – David Brinkley was in Key West filming part of the Bicentennial special to be shown on NBC Television.
1980 – President Jimmy Carter ordered 400 Marines to Key West to take charge of the Cuban refugee management.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Imaae: Professor Richard Aldrich and students from the University of Miami investigate Native American graves on May 5, 1955. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
