After the Fire, Key West History #38, was distributed by the author during the early morning hours of March 30, 2012, the 126th Anniversary of The 1886 Great Fire of Key West.

On the 30th of March, 1886, two thirds of the Key West's commercial district was savaged by fire.

Chas B. Pendleton, Editor-in-Chief of the Key West Daily Equator-Democrat reported, "The terror of that awful sight will never be forgotten by any one who witnessed the grand but terrible tragedy. Fire and wind undid in a few short hours the work of many generations of busy men. Human suffering and hardship was exemplified in the period of woe and desolation that followed. Every one was dazed and bewildered. Despair was the key note of every voice, and a scene of blackened ruins and ashy waste failed to inspire hope in any heart of reflect a flash from any eye."

The 1886 Great Fire of Key West began at two o'clock in the morning of March 30, 1886 in a coffee shop next to the San Carlos Hall on Duval Street. According to Pendlelton, "The fire burned to Whitehead Street, where it was stopped at Jackson Square, meantime, it crossed Duval Street and was soon beyond all possibility of control. The Great Fire of 1886 raged for twelve hours before burning itself out." Continued in Key West History #38

Train Arrives Key West History #37

Distribution of 20,000 copies of Train Arrives, Key West History #37, began preciously at 10:43 a.m. on January 22, 2012 - the 100th Anniversary of the train's arrival.

Arrival signaled completion of the "8th Wonder of the World" and the start of the greatest celebration ever held in Key West.

The crowd started to gather before the sky had begun to lighten. Young and old, sailors and civilians, rich and poor­ they came on foot or by carriage down the new road angling off Caroline Street to Trumbo Point. They were there to see a train arrive­ the first into Key West and the first one many in the crowd had seen in their lifetime. Shortly after 10:30, the sound of a whistle could be heard as the train chugged across the Old East Channel from Stock Island and headed into Key West. Within minutes, the train took a jog to the right and headed across landfill and a drawbridge onto Trumbo Point and, at 10:43 a.m., pulled into the station, as seen in the photo above. This was the greatest moment in Key West's history.

For the first time since 1822, when John Simonton had begun selling parcels of his undeveloped island to William Whitehead and John Fleming, Key West in 1934 had no major industry or employer, save the U.S. Navy--and that WW1.

The city government had laid off most city employees, and fire and police continued to work without pay on promise of compensation once the city found money to pay them.

At least 80 percent of the city's able-bodied workers were out of work, idling on porches and drinking in the hidden bars and backroom joints. Men loitered along the docks awaiting the next ship to unload while others drank themselves into the bushes at Front and Duval streets. Full Story >>>

Highway Opens Key West History #36

Motorists pour in, locals celebrate as tourist dollars restart fallen economy. This moment marks the start of today's modern tourism economy.

Four years after Key West declared bankruptcy (see Key West History #35,) Key West would not be what it is today--a place where tourists can fish, swim, dance, sing, fly, dive, snorkel, sightsee, eat, dine, drink, drink, drink--if it weren't for a balding man in an ugly pair of shorts - Key West History's Man of the Year for 1938, Julious Stone Thanks to him, Key West was full of people and celebration on July 2-4 1938, with parades, baseball games, dances, banquets, speeches, and other events to mark the completion of the Overseas Highway. Thousands of people from Cuba, the rest of Florida and the United States were in town as local citizens opened their arms, streets, waterfront and homes to visiting dignitaries, state and national politicians, and tourists who had come to mark the highway's completion. Continued >>>