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May 20
1957 – The second mate and an oiler of the Key West-to-Havana ferry SS City of Havana were taken into custody by federal authorities at Key West on charges of smuggling aliens into the United States.

Florida Keys History Center
May 19, 20251 min read


May 6
1955 – Work on the stands for the Key West High School Stadium was well underway, and the job was expected to be completed within the week. When done, the stands would seat 3,076 people.

Florida Keys History Center
May 5, 20251 min read


April 30
1860 – The U.S. Navy steamer Mohawk brought the captured slave ship Wildfire into Key West Harbor. The Wildfire had 510 Africans on board – people taken from the Congo River region and intended to be sold into slavery in Cuba. The Wildfire was in violation of U.S. and international law, and the Navy had been searching for such lawbreakers.

Florida Keys History Center
Apr 29, 20252 min read


April 29
1963 – Entomologists were zeroing in a species of whitefly recently found on Stock Island as the spreader of a lethal yellowing virus that was destroying coconut palms. Since its first appearance in Key West in 1954, the disease had killed 80% of Lower Keys coconut trees.

Florida Keys History Center
Apr 28, 20252 min read


April 24
2010 – Nearly 200 Key West residents met with city staff to offer ideas for the development of 6.6 acres of land in Truman Waterfront Park. Creating an open green space and turning a former Navy mess hall into a community center were the leading choices.

Florida Keys History Center
Apr 23, 20251 min read


April 4
1941 – Eight female students at Key West High School formed a carpentry class – the first of their sex to do so.

Florida Keys History Center
Apr 3, 20252 min read


February 28
1935 – The Key West Art Gallery opened in the renovated Caroline Lowe house at 303 Duval Street.

Florida Keys History Center
Feb 28, 20251 min read


February 27
1964 – The Navy awarded a $1,967,209 contract to Bauer Dredging Company to deepen Key West’s main ship’s channel to 34 feet.

Florida Keys History Center
Feb 27, 20251 min read


February 12
1924 – So many tourists were traveling between Key West and Havana that the steamship Governor Cobb had to make an extra trip.

Florida Keys History Center
Feb 11, 20251 min read


February 10
1960 – Students at Key West High School were dismissed for the day after a phone caller warned a bomb was set go off there at 2 p.m.

Florida Keys History Center
Feb 10, 20251 min read
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