1830 – William R. Hackley recorded in his diary: Rose about the hour the sun did. Read a portion of the “Acts.” At ten attended court. One case of indictment against R.W. Cussans for keeping a disorderly house was tried but the juries at this place necessarily composed of men of no character and indeed it is impossible to get any jury here who will decide according to their oath, the greater part of the persons who call themselves householders being drunken and vagabond sailors who have built themselves palmetto huts on the Keys and who are usually drunk from the time of their arrival on the Key until their departure or all their money is gone and it will be a long time before any case can be decided by a jury justly and according to law and it appears to me that it would be much more conducive to public justice if this court did not possess all of the powers of a Superior Court of Florida but was merely clothed with the powers of a court of Admiralty. Read Hammond. After dinner I went down to the wharf and found Dr. Henry S. Waterhouse attempting to sail his boat which in consequence of his ignorance he was unable to effect and as there was at that time a good breeze from the northeast. I got into his boat and took a sail with him for about an hour when I returned to my room and read Stewart. The wind variable and at night came out of the northeast and caused the air to be quite cool.
1900 – In the election W. Hunt Harris was elected to the State Senate from Monroe and Lee counties and Joseph Y. Porter and E.W. Russell were elected to the Florida House of Representatives from Monroe County.
1934 – The following were the winners in the general elections: Arthur Gomez, state senator; Bernie C. Papy, state representative, and County Commissioners William R. Porter, Braxton B. Warren, Carl Bervaldi, Norberg Thompson and Nathan C. Niles. Clarence H. Pierce, Allan B. Cleare and Ralph Johnson were elected to the Monroe County School Board.
1945 – In the Key West City Commission election, William Demeritt had the highest vote total and was thereby elected mayor. The other commissioners elected were John Carbonell, Hunter C. Harden, W.C. Sweeting and Albert B. Cooper.
1961 – Ground was broken for a new Key West City Hall on Angela Street at the corner of Simonton Street.
1966 – The Islamorada branch of the Monroe County Public Library was officially opened.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library
Image: Photo taken by Monroe County Property Appraisers office. Monroe County Public Library, Islamorada, Upper Matecumbe Key. Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library. https://www.flickr.com/photos/keyslibraries/5768572221