Today in Keys History – Oct. 9, 2022
- Keys History Center
- Oct 8, 2022
- 2 min read
1905– The following officials were elected in the Key West city elections: George Babcock, mayor; Mason Mareno, city clerk; W.H. Warren, tax collector; William M. Pinder, tax assessor; Whitmore Gardner, city marshall; Lam Baker, captain of night police; Dr. J.W.V.R. Plummer, city health officer; Charles Curtis, city treasurer; H.G. Fulford, street commissioner; Frank Johnson, meat inspector; James Collins, sexton of the cemetery. The following were elected to the Key West City Commission: Josh Curry, Robert Gabriel, Allen E. Curry, William B. Curry, Alfred Atchinson, P.T. Knight, Alfred Gardner, Edgar Folk and Benjamin Tynes. The race for police justice ended in a tie between George Brooks and Charles L. Knowles and the commission ordered a run-off, which Brooks won.
1930 – George L. Bartlum died in Key West at age 72. He had been a leader in the sponge industry for many years and served as Mayor of Key West 1898 to 1906.
1934 – Maria Gutsens, Matron of Mercedes hospital for 23 years, was notified by the Secretary of State of Cuba that she had been awarded the Cross of the Order of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, the highest honor given by the Cuban government.
1975 – The new exceptional child education facilities at May Sands School on United Street were dedicated.
1994 -Key West’s wastewater treatment plant on Fleming Key was rededicated and named after the former Key West City Commissioner and Mayor Richard A. Heyman.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library
Image: The Mercedes Hospital at 1209 Virginia Street, Key West, circa 1920s. Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Library. https://www.flickr.com/photos/keyslibraries/4528148835
