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Today in Keys History – October 2, 2024

Writer: Keys History CenterKeys History Center
aerial view of an island with a road running along it.

1901 – The Diebold Safe and Lock Company was installing a large vault in the County House for the use as an armory and for the Clerk of Court.

1924 – Key West residents who had accommodations available for out-of-town visitors to the upcoming San Carlos grand opening celebration were requested to file their names with a description of their apartments or rooms with the local housing committee or the Chamber of Commerce.

1950 – Playwright Tennessee Williams bought the house at the corner of Leon and Duncan streets from Mr. and Mrs. Lee Elmore for $13,000.

1953 – Key West began a program to inoculate all children under 15 years with gamma globulin to prevent the paralytic form of polio. A 25-year-old Navy wife was diagnosed with the non-paralytic form of the disease that was the 35th case for the year.

1954 – A large crowd was on hand to watch as the automobile and passenger ferry City of Key West sailed on its first trip to Cardenas, Cuba.

2004 – The Marathon City Council wanted to buy the Knights Key Campground located at the base of the Seven Mile Bridge as a site for affordable housing, but a Fort Myers company already had a purchase option on the 21-acre property.

Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.

Image: An aerial view of Knights Key campground. Photo taken by the federal government on October 7, 1987. From the Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.

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