1829 – Yellow fever was rampant at Key West. One resident wrote, “This place still continues sickly. Although every person who could get away has left the island, and a great number have died this season.” Pardon C. Greene, one of the community’s founders, was lying at the point of death.
1923 – Many Key West cigar factories were displaying “Cigarmakers Wanted” signs but still found it difficult to find enough help. Without enough workers, they feared orders would not be filled in a timely manner.
1935 – The most intense hurricane to hit the United States passed over Long Key and Lower Matecumbe Key. The category 5 storm had a barometer reading of 26.35, with winds estimated near 200 mph and tides 18 to 20 feet above normal. The storm killed nearly 400 people and brought an end to the financially troubled Overseas Railroad.
1954 – Over 12,000 new telephone directories weighing two tons were ready for distribution across Key West. Versus the previous year, 1,124 more phone books were to be delivered.
1958 – Hurricane Ella caused gale force winds across the Keys with winds as high as 55 mph damaging trailers on Stock Island.
1979 – Hurricane David passed east of Key West with little result. For the first time, the Governor had recommended all residents of the Florida Keys evacuate because of the potential effects of a hurricane.
1999 – Key West crews and contractors were halfway through testing the city’s sewer lines by using dye to locate leaks. The goal was to determine if the island’s wastewater system was the source of elevated bacterial levels in nearshore waters.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Storm damage at Islamorada, after the 1935 hurricane. Gift of Mrs. Ned McCarthy. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.