Friday, March 15, 2013

ON THIS DAY IN:

1898 The Battleship Maine Court of Inquiry began its deliberation on the USS Iowa, anchored off Sand Key Lighthouse.

1900 The unveiling of the monument dedicated by the citizens of Key West to the heroes of the Battleship Maine who died in Havana on Feb. 15, 1898, was held in the city cemetery. More than 10,000 people were present and viewed the procession.

1900 The Knights of Pythias of Florida held their Grand Lodge meeting in Key West.

1903 Secretary of the Navy William H. Moody arrived on the U.S. steamer Dolphin. Accompanying the secretary was Postmaster-General Payne, Sen. Hale, Rep. Foss and Judge James R. Dunbar.

1927 Vice President Charles G. Dawes arrived in Key West via the Overseas Railroad. Later in the day, he sailed for Cuba on the steamer Governor Cobb.

1931 Howard Trumbo, the dredging engineer who built Trumbo Point for the Florida East Coast Railroad, died in Havana at the age of 56.

1940 R.C. Perky, developer of Sugarloaf Key, died in Miami.

1948 Secretary of Defense James V. Forestall and chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force, plus other ranking military leaders, left Key West for Washington. During a weekend meeting at the Little White House, the group drafted a document known as the "Key West Accord" which would be the working guidelines for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

1954 The secretary of interior announced that 271,000 acres of land had been deeded to the Everglades National Park, increasing its total to about 1.5 million acres. The new land was in Monroe and Collier counties south of the Tamiami Trail.

1963 Filming began on the movie "Man in the Water" starring Mark Stevens. The movie was the first production of the Key West Film Co., locally owned, that hoped to start a movie industry in Key West.