1863 – The ship Mallory arrived at Key West from New York with many island residents who were returning home from their summer getaways up north, along with many workmen for the forts.
1890 – Stephen R. Mallory, Democratic congressional nominee for the first district of Florida, arrived at Key West on the steamer Olivette. Mallory was serenaded by the Young Men’s Cornet Band before speaking before a large audience.
1907 – The cigar factory owned by Mariano Morales at 1200 Georgia Street in Key West was destroyed by fire.
1939 – The Navy Department announced that the long unused Key West Naval Station would re-open on November 1. The station was used to support ships engaged in neutrality patrols of the Atlantic and Caribbean.
1945 – Secretary of the Navy James Forestal notified Florida Senator Claude Pepper that the naval operating base at Key West and naval air station at Boca Chica would be retained as part of the permanent organization of the postwar Navy.
1964 – Hurricane Isabel, with winds of 80 to 100 mph, caused minor damage in the city. The one significant casualty of the storm was a giant Spanish Laurel tree at the Oldest House, which fell onto Duval Street.
1968 – Marathon’s Shell Lumber Company was destroyed in an overnight fire. Three volunteer firemen were overcome by smoke, and one was treated at Fisherman’s Hospital for burns. Damage was estimated at $25,000.
1975 – Governor Reubin Askew reinstated Harry Harris as county commissioner. He had been removed from office when he was charged with accepting a bribe, a crime of which he was acquitted.
1978 – Indian Key, which was the first county seat of Dade County but now part of Monroe County, was dedicated as a state park.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The Oldest House at 322 Duval Street in the 1930s. From a collection of photographs taken or collected during the 1930s by the WPA workers in Key West. The Heritage House Collection, donated by the Campbell, Poirier and Pound families. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.