1819 – The ship Jupiter of London wrecked on Matecumbe Reef. Bahamian wreckers were able to remove cargo and refloat the ship before escorting it to Nassau for repair.
1862 – Yellow fever raged during the month, killing 20 members of the 90th New York Regiment, and another 27 men died in the Marine Hospital.
1899 – Physical contact between Key West and the outside world was cut off by order of Dr. J.Y. Porter, executive officer of the Florida state board of health, because of a growing outbreak of yellow fever. The island had recently experienced two deaths, and the number of cases was increasing.
1924 – Marie Jane Pinder, familiarly known as “Aunt Jennie,” died at the age of 112 years. She had made her home in Key West for the past 70 years.
1930 – Orders were received to begin the retrenchment of the Navy Yard which resulted in about 80 men losing their jobs.
1931 – Key West firefighters walked off the job, leaving firehouse number 1 with only Chief Pinder. Firehouse number 2, which was paid by the county, was still staffed. The firefighters walked out because they had not been paid, and the City Commission could not tell them when they might be.
1942 – For the first time in the island’s history, fresh water flowed to Key West from the mainland. The $3 million, 130-mile-long aqueduct initially carried less than 2 million gallons a day, but the preliminary flow was only for flushing and testing. When the distribution system was completed and the aqueduct was at its full capacity of 3 million gallons daily, it would supply water for both military and civilian needs.
1959 – The Monroe County Commission voted to ask the state Road Department to allocate $25,000 for a survey to determine the feasibility of the construction of a highway from Big Pine Key to Cape Sable on the southwest coast of Florida.
1976 – President Gerald Ford signed papers transferring Fort Zachary Taylor in Key West to the State of Florida.
2008 -The Florida Keys Scenic Corridor Alliance was working to have US 1 through the Florida Keys designated as a National Scenic Byway.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Installing the Navy waterline on an old railroad bridge during WW II. U.S. Navy photo. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.