Today in Keys History – October 19, 2023
- Keys History Center
- Oct 18, 2023
- 2 min read
1863 – Private William Paxson of the 47th Regiment of Pennsylvania died of illness at the Dry Tortugas and was buried on East Key.
1876 – A hurricane of minor intensity hit Key West with winds of 75 mph and slight damage to roofs and trees.
1886 – Despite the setback of the recent “great fire,” Key West was producing 2,000,000 cigars weekly.
1908 – Mayor Fogarty issued an order prohibiting all shooting of guns within Key West city limits. The first violators to be arrested were “several prominent citizens and some legal lights.”
1921 – Two boys gained entrance to an empty Key West house and came home intoxicated. Authorities examined the house at the corner of Georgia and Duncan streets and found a still for producing bootleg liquor. The illegal gear consisted of “two ten-gallon tanks, nine whiskey barrels, thirteen demijohns, buckets, a washtub, a case of Dunbar syrup, and raisins, among other utensils,” which made for the most completely equipped still ever found in Monroe County. The owner of the still had traveled to Cuba and was not arrested.
1924 – The tank steamer Burdet, which had run aground between Alligator Light and Molasses Reef, was refloated and taken to Key West. Part of its cargo of oil was dumped overboard.
1927 – To fulfill its contract with the U.S. Post Office, Pan American Airlines hired pilot Cy Caldwell to fly a single-engine seaplane from Key West to Havana. He left Key West at 8:04 a.m. carrying seven sacks of mail, containing about 30,000 letters. He landed in Havana 62 minutes later and saved the airline, which could not begin regular service with its own planes until October 28.
1979 – The Harry S. Truman Animal Import Center on Fleming Key, the first of its kind on U.S. soil, was dedicated. The main speaker was Gov. Bob Graham.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Cy Caldwell sitting on the plane La Nina before making the first flight from Key West to Havana for Pan American Airways on October 19, 1927. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
