
1894 – A hurricane that had traveled the length of Cuba passed over Key West, where winds were clocked at 104 mph. Only slight damage resulted.
1934 – Three officials of the Cuban government inspected the San Carlos Theater and school to determine the repairs necessary to bring the building up to standards.
1955 – Gardner Cowles, president of Look Magazine, and his associate David Salzman bought a 182-acre tract of land on Cudjoe Key for $83,000.
1974 – The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority board passed a resolution formally stating they wished to acquire the Navy’s Florida Keys water pipeline. It was the last act needed for the U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare to begin the transfer of the system from federal to local control.
1998 – Hurricane Georges, a category 3 hurricane, swept across Key West and the Lower Keys, causing significant damage along the islands’ Atlantic shores. Key West’s famed Houseboat Row was largely destroyed.
1999 – The USCG Cutter Barbara Mabrity was in Key West for the weekend. The ship was named for the woman who had kept the Key West Lighthouse for 38 years.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Houseboat Row on South Roosevelt Boulevard after Hurricane Georges September 1998. From the Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.