1827 – The schooner Packet was lost on the southwest end of Carysfort Reef, while the crew was attempting to reach Key Largo to find water. The vessel was caught in a current running 5 knots an hour, put onto the reef, and sunk.
1862 – William D. Cash, a commission merchant for Wall & Pinckney in Key West, was arrested for secessionist beliefs and confined at Fort Taylor. Cash had been heard to say that he wished every Union soldier at Key West would die of yellow fever.
1899 – Thirteen new cases of yellow fever were reported at Key West.
1906 – The Key West City Directory listed 40 cigar factories with more than 2,000 employees.
1908 – Charles E. Magoon, provisional governor of Cuba, arrived at Knight’s Key dock on a private rail car to connect with a steamer to Havana. Magoon noted how similar the Keys were to Cuba and that he saw a bright future for the islands and the railroad.
1909 – The Ocean Beach Hotel at the settlement of Crainlyn on Grassy Key burned, along with all its contents. Owner E. H. Crain was at Key West when the blaze occurred and had no idea of its origin.
1898 – The following officials were elected in the city elections: George L. Bartlum, mayor; George R. Phillips, city clerk; Charles Albury, Marshall; William Weatherford, tax collector; William Pinder, tax assessor; William H. Williams, treasurer; G.W. Reynolds, election commissioner; J.M. Phipps, election commissioner; Alfred Lowe, election commissioner; and city commissioners C.J. Heulsenkamp, Charles Shavers, Josh Curry, Alfred Gardner, Charles R. Pierce, T.J. Sawyer, Thomas A. Thompson, B.P. Baker and George Bryson.
1939 – Officers of the Norwegian tanker Ralla reported to Lt. Commander Ford Callahan, USN, Key West, that, at noon, they had sighted a suspicious submarine on the surface near the channel to Key West Harbor. Callahan noted that the Ralla crew was convinced of what they had seen.
2003 – City of Key West Code Enforcement officials issued citations to 10 Duval Street T-shirt shops for failing to provide pre-sale written estimates of cost to potential customers.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Havana American Cigar Factory (Also called the Truct Factory) taken in September 1906. Photo by E. Lowe Pierce from the Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.