Podcasts by Today in Key West History

Key West History - Jan. 23, 1896 - Florida's Wealthiest Man Dies from 2019-01-23T18:52:24

Born in Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas on Sept. 21, 1821, William Curry had always heard the tales of the fortunes that could be made in a nearby city call Key West. At the age of 15, Curry came to t...

Key West History - Jan. 22, 1926 - The First Luxury Hotel Opens in Key West from 2019-01-22T17:00

Despite having decades in the late 1800's where Key West had the highest amount of wealth per-capita, as well as being the largest city in Florida, it wasn't until 1926 that Key West experienced...

Key West History - Jan. 21, 1880 - Ulysses S. Grant Visits Key West from 2019-01-21T18:40:13

If I described a leader as a failed business man - multiple times, someone who struggled with alcohol, a military man who couldn't stand the uniforms, and a novice politician, you'd probably thi...

Key West History - Jan 18, 1912 - The Filming of Flagler's Railroad Journey from 2019-01-18T21:39:35

The dream of one man changed the isolation of the Florida Keys for all time. Henry Flagler was a native New Yorker and he was born in 1830. He only went to school up until the eighth grade. But ...

Key West History - Jan 17, 1928 - Calvin Coolidge and His Wife Arrived in Key West from 2019-01-18T04:40:53

When President Donald Trump visited Key West late last year, it was the first time in nearly 55 years for a sitting US president to visit Key West. Prior to that, the last time was when John F. ...

Key West History - Jan. 15, 1971 - Finally a Conviction in the Murder of a Charter Boat Captain and His Son from 2019-01-15T20:13:13

Roger Foster, the 17 year old admitted killer of the charter boat, Dream Girls, two man crew was brought to us by a Coast Guard vessel and was immediately whisked away from the docks by FBI agen...

Key West History - Jan. 12, 1952 - The Pink Shrimp"Gold Rush"in Key West from 2019-01-14T17:31:20

In late 1949, 100 years after the peak of the California Gold Rush, Pink Gold was discovered off the Florida Keys near Dry Tortugus. The “gold” was a grooved variety of shrimp called “pink” shri...

Key West History - Jan. 11, 1926 - There's a Menace Terrorizing the City from 2019-01-12T02:20:13

There's a menace going on on the streets of Key West, as documented by the historic archive of the Key West citizen. And I quote, "Fully realizing that it is treading on sacred ground to interfe...

January 10, 1861 - Key West Refuses to Secede from the Union from 2019-01-10T21:21:07

Key West was an awkward place to live when the Civil War broke out.

January 9, 1827 - Construction Starts on the First Sand Key Lighthouse from 2019-01-09T21:54:47

Sand key is situated next to a channel that leads to Key West. It's located roughly eight miles to the north west of Key West. In normal conditions, a significant amount of sand accumulates on t...

January 8, 1828 - Key West Is Incorporated as a City from 2019-01-09T01:30:57

Key West, like the other Florida Keys, began as a coral forest under the sea water. Marine life was its only population as the polar ice caps reformed and the sea level dropped. Terrestrial plan...

Key West History: December 26, 1923 - Reward Offered for Vandals of Yards in Key West from 2018-12-26T03:52:39

The Key West Citizen has received so many complaints recently about the willful destruction of plants and flowers in yards in the city, that it has decided to reward $25 for the arrest and convi...

Key West History: Dec. 24, 1923 - Key West Declared a Port of Real Consequence from 2018-12-25T05:17:23

On December the 24th, 1923, this quote appeared in the Tampa Tribune. "Tampa is the nearest port of any real consequence in the United States to the Panama Canal." Soon after, there was a rebutt...

Key West History: Josè Marti Arrived for His First Visit to Key West from 2018-12-24T04:10:31

José Martí was born in Havana to Spanish immigrants in 1853. From a young age, he dedicated himself to the Cuban struggle for independence. During his life he visited Tampa 20 times, a place wit...

Key West History: Dec. 21, 1975 - Key West Aloe Opened It's New Store and Factory from 2018-12-21T22:38:25

While vacationing in Key West in the 1960’s with his partner, Joe Lizska, Frank Romano made the terrible mistake of falling asleep on the beach. It’s a mistake many tourists to Key West make, no...

Key West History: Dec. 20, 1996 - Key West's Grand Dame and Matriarch Dies from 2018-12-20T22:05:37

By the early 1970s, when the fabrics and designs of Lilly Pulitzer were retail and media darlings, Tony Falcone started coming to Key West with his partner, Bill Conkle. Eventually, they decided...

Today in Key West History - Dec. 18, 1955 - The Ferry from Key West to Havana Completed Testing from 2018-12-18T05:00

Now, more than 50 years after Fidel Castro's takeover of Cuba it remains a mysterious forbidden and a foreign place. Few of us can picture a time when Cuba was a friendly neighbor of the United ...

December 17, 1899 - More than a Year After The Sinking of the Maine, Bodies of Victims Were Recovered By the Military from 2018-12-18T04:38:30

The night seemed like any other. It was February 15th and the crew of the battleship Maine had been dispatched to Havana. In the evening, they were riding quietly at anchor in the Havana Harbor,...

December 15 - The Underwater Cable System Connection Key West to Havana was Started from 2018-12-15T05:00

From much of its early history, Key West stood in relative isolation due to the lack of regular mail service to the island, and the sporadic nature of the shipping supply channels which could ea...

December 14 - The Contract for the Building of the Key West Custom House was Awarded from 2018-12-14T05:00

As Key West became increasingly wealthy, the four story architectural marvel known as the Custom House was built, and it is a perfect example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. It's easil...

December 13 - Key Deer Were Hunted on Big Pine Key from 2018-12-14T03:49:48

On December 13, 1928, this small paragraph appeared in the Key West Citizen. "The Turtelino hunting crowd killed a large deer yesterday on No Name Key. The deer was killed by Eddie Marquez and w...

December 12 - Key West Had the Only English Wesleyan Methodist Church in the United States. from 2018-12-12T20:00

The congregation was originally known as the "Gulf of Mexico Mission with Cayo Hueso".

The local history informs us that it was Reverend George Lister, who established the mission in Key ...

December 11 - The Search for Hoffa Comes to Key West! from 2018-12-12T00:12:19

On December the 9, 1961, Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa was in Key West inspecting the once grand Casa Marina hotel. It was a hotel that the Teamsters had recently acquired. He later least the ...

December 10 - Norman Sherwood Becomes The First Prisoner is Hanged from the Gallows in Key West from 2018-12-10T05:00

Norma Sherwood has the distinction of being the first man to the west. Sherwood had an altercation with a man named Jones on the 5th of July in 1830.

After they were separated, he went a...

December 9 - The Shark Processing Industry Comes to Big Pine Key from 2018-12-09T05:00

Joe Whalton recalls that a visit to the shark camp on Big Pine Key was a favorite activity during his boyhood stays at a nearby family vacation retreat. "The place was close enough that we could...

December 8 - Fernando Joaquin Moreno Was Elected Mayor of Key West from 2018-12-08T05:00

There's nothing but saying there today. But 140 years ago, nearly 300 Africans were buried on what is now Higgs beach victims of slavery. It was 1858 and us warships had been ordered to enforce ...

December 7 - Reap The Wild Wind Author Moves Near the Southernmost Point from 2018-12-07T17:00

As the film opens, Loxie Claiborne is running a marine salvage business started by her deceased father. A hurricane is passing through the Key West area leaving behind at least one wreck on the ...

December 6 - Blue Angels Announce Key West as Their Winter Training Destination from 2018-12-06T05:00

At the end of World War II Chief Naval Operations, Admiral Chester Nimitz ordered the formation of a flight demonstration team to keep the public interested in naval aviation.

In a short ...

December 5 - Artist Henry Faulkner Dies at the Hands of a Drunk Driver from 2018-12-05T05:00

Today's nugget of Key West history comes to us from a blog post by artist, Anja Marais. I'm living on a quaint lane in Old Town Key West for the last six years in a wooden Victorian house. My fi...

December 4 - Eduardo H. Gato Died in Havana, Cuba from 2018-12-04T05:00

The first Gato cigar factory is a three story building constructed in 1870, the first for the fact that was used for receiving tobacco and distributing scars. The second story consisted of rows ...

December 2 - The Cuban Boat Lift from Matanzas Bay Ended from 2018-12-02T05:00

In 1965, Fidel Castro, facing growing political unrest, and widespread economic problems, seize the initiative on refugees by manipulating US immigration policy to his advantage, knowing that th...

Nov. 29 - The Start of Something Beautiful Called Casa Roma from 2018-11-29T05:00

A few days ago, I came across a historic fact mentioning that today, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles was staying at the Casa Roma Motel as he recuperated from cancer. I’d never heard of the C...

Tuesday, Nov. 27 - Dr. Joseph Yates Porter Ends the Yellow Fever Quarantine from 2018-11-27T05:00

Yellow Fever, also known as the yellow plague, or the yellow jack was one of the most dangerous and dreaded disease is prevalent in Florida. During the 1800s, the diseases viral and we now know ...

Nov. 26 - The Biggest and Richest City in Florida - Welcome to Key West from 2018-11-26T05:00

Location, location, location. It's the cry of any good businessman. In 1825, the Federal wrecking act prescribed that all property record in US waters be taken to a US port of entry. It was in 1...

Nov. 24 - Alligator Reef Lighthouse Opens from 2018-11-24T05:00

In 1822, just two years out of the shipyard, the Navy schooner was on rounds to recapture and free ships that were taken in the pirate heavy seas of the Caribbean.

And alligator reef, a n...

Nov. 20 - Skiing to Cuba from 2018-11-20T05:00

Prior to September 10, 1978, the furthest training run that Charles McCoy had ever under taken was a successful 80 mile non-stop crossing to the Dry Tortugas. That run took him 3 hours and 55 minut...

Nov. 19 - Charles Parra Gets Elected to City Commission in a Runoff Election from 2018-11-19T05:00

On Tuesday, February 10, 1942 on the front page of the Key West citizen, there's a small article talking about the local labor union.Now the labor union in question was the local Mason and brick...

Nov. 18 - Captain Tony's Bar Becomes"On Limits"to Navy Personnel from 2018-11-18T05:00

Anthony was born on August 10, 1916 in Elizabeth New Jersey. His father was an immigrant who made his living as a bootlegger during these times of Prohibition. 

Nov.13, 1948 - President Truman Sails the Williamsburg to the Dry Tortugas from 2018-11-13T05:00

November 13, 1948

Nov. 12 - Dr. Joseph Norman Fogarty was Re-Elected as Key West Mayor from 2018-11-12T05:00

If you've ever been to Key West, you may have eaten at the famous Fogarty's Restaurant. Like everything and everyone in Key West, that place has a history. It's all tied to Dr. Joseph Fogarty, w...

Nov. 7 - Jennie Bethel DeBoer and the Key West Lighthouse Legacy from 2018-11-09T03:16:59

Let's take a look at what happened today in Key West history. November the seventh 1983, a lady by the name of Jennie Bethel DeBoer - she died at the age of 97 in Key West. Now, she was one of t...

Nov. 8th - Truman Makes His 5th Visit to Key West to Record Crowds from 2018-11-07T17:00

Today in Key West history, we're talking about the focal point of one of Harry Truman's visits to Key West and it was the Truman Little White House.

Now, if you'll remember correctly, the...