Bobby Marion Francis had a criminal past and was involved in the drug trade in Key West in the mid 1970's. One deal went wrong and he ended up taking revenge on Titus R. Walters, who was working as a drug informant for the sheriff's office. The story is gruesome and brutal. But, it's part of Key West History. You may also remember Bobby Marion Francis from another crime story in Key West. He was involved in a deal with Bum Farto, and you can hear that story here. Today in Key West History is a prod member of the Florida Keys Podcast Network. You can also find us at http://43keys.com.

Today in Key West History

Key West Murder Lands Man on Death Row - March 28, 1983

Stephen Russell Mallory was an immigrant to Key West from the island of Trinidad. He grew up in Key West and learned the practice of law from local judges. His career was ascendant and he caught the attention of the President and received a position of Presidential appointment which was the springboard for many more important positions.  Stephen Mallory played a pivotal role in the Confederacy during the Civil War. He was eventually charged with treason and sought a Presidential Pardon to clear him of these charges. He eventually received a partial parole and was able to move past this scandal. With a dwindling fortune, he had to fall back on the practice of law to rebuild his life and reunite his family. His impact on the South during the Civil War was undeniable, but his service to his country didn't stop there as he held several powerful positions in Key West and in the state of Florida, as well as for the Confederacy.  If you're ever visiting Key West, you can learn more about Stephen Mallory and visit the world famous Mallory Square Sunset Celebration, which is held nightly. You can learn more about that here. It was today, March 26, 1851 that Stephen Mallory was appointed to be a US Senator by the Florida Legislature. And that's what happened Today in Key West History. Today in Key West History is brought to you by 43 Keys Media. You can find us at http://43keys.com. Today in Key West History is a proud member of the Florida Keys Podcast Network.               The source for the content of this podcast is The Florida Irish Heritage Center and you can find the article here.

A Key West Son Becomes a Big Player in Florida Politics - March 26, 1851

Edward Ball was the estate manager for Alfred I. duPont, who had a reputation for pinching pennies and treating every transaction as if it was a business deal. He was a great financial manager, with questionable political allies. He used the power of his position to wield as much power over politics as he could. He never wanted to get his hands dirty himself, so he bought politicians to do it for him. It was today, March 23, 1941 that Ed Ball bought over 600 acres of land in Matecumbe, Little Torch and Sugarloaf Keys. And that's what happened Today in Key West History. Today in Key West History is brought to you by 43 Keys Media. You can find us at http://43keys.com. Today in Key West History is a proud member of the Florida Keys Podcast Network.  

Robber Barrons Buying Up Land in the Florida Keys - March 23, 1941

Samuel Clemens spent lots of time on H.H. Rogers new steam yacht, Kanawha. At the time, the Kanawha was one of the largest privately owned (and fastest) steam yachts. In the summer of 1902, Clemens, Rogers, Thomas B. Reed and some other friends boarded Kanawha and set sail on a cruise around the Caribbean. Along the way, the stopped in Key West. And that's what happened Today in Key West History.  Today in Key West History is brought to you by 43 Keys Media. You can find us at http://43keys.com. Today is Key West History is a proud member of the Florida Keys Podcast Network!    

Mark Twain Visits Key West While Sailing to Cuba - March 22, 1902

What started out as military quarters has grown into a pivotal building in our country's history over the last 50+ years. It could be considered the original Winter White House, but we call it the Truman Little White House due to the fact that President Harry S. Truman truly fell in love with Key West while he was here. He even said the city was his second favorite city in the world - second only to his hometown. The Little White House has hosted dignitaries from many countries, as well as the President and top military brass of the United States. It's also been the site of several important documents that changed the course of history - The Key West Accord and The Marshall Plan are among them. Learn more about the role our island city of Key West and the Truman Little White House played in the history of the United States! Today in Key West History is brought to you by 43 Keys Media. You can find us at http://43keys.com. Today in Key West History is a proud member of the Florida Keys Podcast Network. Content for this episode was provided by the National Park Service and can be found here: https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/trumans_little_white_house.html

Forget Mar-a-Lago, The Real Winter White House is in Key West - March 19, 1949

From ancient writings, we have always known that Leprosy had a stigma that many other diseases never have. Highly contagious and rife with gross symptoms that could be hard for the non-afflicted to stomach, those with leprosy have always been isolated, more so than treated. Leper colonies were created to help contain the disease and put it out of the public view. In a 1955 article called “Leprosy in the United States”, Dr. L.F. Badger documented the pockets of Leprosy within the United States. After looking at the data, it was determined that the majority of US cases of Leprosy occurred within just a few small communities.   One of the communities with Leprosy occurrences was Key West. Within Florida, only 11 out of 67 specific counties had reported incidences within a period of 33 years. One county stood out with a larger than typical concentration of the disease. That was Monroe County, which comprises the entirety of the Florida Keys. But it wasn’t the entire Keys that had reports of the disease - it was only Key West!   During this measurable period, the state of Florida reported 137 cases of Leprosy. Of those 137 cases, almost half (44.5%) were located in Monroe County. There were 96 patients who were born in Florida and just under 45% of them resided in Key West at the time they were diagnosed.    With a little more digging and pouring over the case histories of the 96 patients in Key West with Leprosy, it was determined that 78 of these patients probably contracted Leprosy while they were living in Key West! The rest of the patients most likely contracted the disease outside of Key West and could have brought the disease back to Key West.   This little discussed part of Key West history is interesting in that when you look at the location within the city where the Leprosy patients lived, it was determined that 65 of the patients diagnosed, actually resided within the city limits of Key West. What is even more surprising is that 56 of those 65 patients lived in what is now known as Old Town Key West. And a further concentration of 39 diagnosed patients lived within 5 square blocks of Old Town. This highest concentration area was the residential area that fronts what we refer to today as the Key West Bight!   It’s never been well documented what could have caused this outbreak of Leprosy within Key West, but the location of the diagnosed patients does seem to support the fact that they could have been exposed by other travelers and ships coming in and out of the bight.    And it was today, March 18, 1909: A man died of leprosy in a house on Virginia Street (which would have been in the outermost part of the affected area of the city). The house and all contents were destroyed by fire under the direction of Fire Chief Fulford. Today in Key West History is brought to you by 43 Keys Media. You can find us at http://43keys.com. The source for this content is: https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC2024574&blobtype=pdf

Leprosy Outbreak in Key West After the Turn of the Century - March 18, 1909

The Key West Agreement is the colloquial name for the policy paper Function of the Armed Forces and the Joint Chiefs of Staff drafted by James V. Forrestal, the first United States Secretary of Defense. Its most prominent feature was an outline for the division of air assets between the Army, Navy, and the newly created Air Force which, with modifications, continues to provide the basis for the division of these assets in the U.S. military today. The basic outline for the document was agreed to at a meeting of the United States service chiefs that took place from March 11 to March 14, 1948 in Key West, Florida, and was finalized after subsequent meetings in Washington, D.C. President Harry S. Truman approved the agreement on April 21, 1948, which was revised in 1954 by the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration. Today in Key West History is brought you by 43 Keys Media.  Today in Key West History is a proud member of the Florida Keys Podcast Network. The content for this episode came from a variety of sources: www.wikipedia.com Jason Lefkowitz's Blog

The Key West Agreement is Hammered Out and Taken to Washington DC

With a modest two-story hotel and various small cottages, Long Key Fishing Camp offered a dramatic departure from the usual opulence of Henry Flagler's hotels. Palatial structures with manicured grounds, extravagant recreational facilities, and world-class amenities were the norm at Flagler's other hotels that dotted the east coast of Florida--but not at Long Key, the last resort to open during his lifetime. Prospective visitors were frankly warned not to expect the same level of comfort provided at sister properties. Yet still they came. This rustic island, with its unparalleled fishing grounds and cabins named after local fish-- "The Kingfish," "The Porpoise," "The Barracoota," "The Shark"--inspired fierce loyalty among its diverse and distinctive clientele, even during the dark years of the Great Depression. Zane Grey, Lou Gehrig, Wallace Stevens, Charles Kettering, Andrew Mellon, and Herbert Hoover were among those who would board the Florida East Coast Railway to visit this paradisiacal setting, many of them to return season after season. Completely destroyed by the fatal 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, the first documented category 5 storm to make landfall in the United States, Flagler's unique island getaway has been largely forgotten. Today we share the famous baseball players who found refuge from the limelight at Long Key. Today in Key West History is brought to you by 43 Keys Media. You can find us at http://43keys.com Today is Key West History is a proud member of the Florida Keys Podcast Network.

Baseball Greats Come to the Florida Keys to Become Great Fishermen

The Louise Maloney Hospital was started out of sheer necessity. As the surgeon for Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway, Dr. John Maloney realized the need for a space to perform surgeries and operations after an accident on the railway construction site up the Keys caused multiple casualties. He then rented the house next to his pharmacy in Key West and turned it into just such a facility. He named it after his wife, Louise. In its first 4 years of existence, it served over 600 patients. The most famous patient to visit the small hospital was author Upton Sinclair. Upton was on passage on the Mallory steamship Alamo and became ill. Unable to make the trip all the way to New York, he was removed from the ship in Key West and hospitalized at the Louise Maloney hospital.  After a few days of treatment, he had recovered enough to proceed to New York. And that's what happened Today in Key West History.  Today is Key West History is brought to you by 43 Keys Media. You can find us at http://43keys.com. Today in Key West History is part of the Florida Keys Podcast Network!

Famous Author Hospitalized in Key West - March 11, 1909

Key West Fire Chief Joseph "Bum" Farto fell into the drug culture in Key West at a time when drugs were as mainstream in Key West as Key Lime Pie. He was so comfortable dealing drugs, that he actually made deals on the bench out in front of the Fire Station on Kennedy Ave. It was this lack of caution that led to his downfall. Operation Conch came along and took down more than 19 accused drug dealers in Key West. It also took down Bum Farto. Soon Farto would be tried and convicted of multiple counts of drug trafficking. Just prior to his sentencing, Farto told his wife he had an appointment in Miami, and he rented a car to make the trip. He took no clothes with him. He was expected to return his rental car the same day.  One month later, Farto's wife finally reported him missing. He hadn't been seen or heard from since the day he was headed to Miami. He just vanished without a trace. Shortly thereafter, t-shirts with the question "Where is Bum Farto?" began popping up around Key West. Those t-shirts became the hottest commodity in Key West at the time. Even Jimmy Buffet has performed at concerts wearing one of these shirts.  The question still has yet to be answered.  It was today, March 4, 1976, that Bum Farto's wife reported him missing. And that's what happened Today in Key West History. This show is brought to you by 43 Keys Media. You can find us at http://43keys.com.

Where is Bum Farto? - Key West History, March 4, 1976

As the population of Key West grew in the late 1800's, the island soon ran out of stove wood for cooking. This shortage created a new industry of charcoal makers and wood cutters. Most of the people who worked in this industry were black male immigrants from the Bahamas.  The men spread out to more unpopulated areas of the Keys and labored in the dense, mosquito infested woods of nearby uninhabited islands. At one point, the only inhabitant of Big Pine Key was a lone wood cutter.  They would find a thick grove of buttonwoods or red mangrove trees and cut them down, then put up a kiln to begin to dry the wood and make charcoal. The fires for the kiln had to be attended day and night. So, the woodcutters and charcoal makers would bed down beside their fires and kilns, only catching cat naps as they tended their fires.  The last charcoal maker burned his fire in 1960 and the industry gradually died out as gas and electric cooking stoves replace wood stoves.  And it was today, Feb. 25, 1893 that the 1893 directory for the City of Key West listed its inhabitants at 23,000. And that's what happened Today in Key West History. Today in Key West History is brought to you by 43 Keys Media. You can learn more about us at http://43keys.com. Today's image is of a charcoal makers shack on Sugarloaf Key in 1939. Photo credit: Stetson Kennedy Content credit:  https://keywestmaritime.org/journal/v22-4_2012summer.pdf John Viele has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Key West Maritime Historical Society of the Florida Keys for the past 20 years. He is the author of three books on the history of the Keys published by Pineapple Press of Sarasota: “The Florida Keys – A History of the Pioneers,” “The Florida Keys, Vol. 2 – True Stories of the Perilous Straits,” and “The Florida Keys, Vol. 3 – The Wreckers.” 

Growing Population Created A Charcoal and Stove Wood Industry in the Florida Keys - Feb. 25, 1893

A T2 tanker carrying molten sulphur went missing on Feb. 2, 1963. The tanker, SS Marine Sulphur Queen had so many maintenance issues and design flaws that it almost seems it was doomed from the start. The tanker last radioed its position as it crossed the Florida Straits in 16 ft. nearly following seas. The ship had a crew of 39 on board and had a history of fires and other repair issues.  What happened to the vessel, we don't exactly know. We just know that the Coast Guard searched for the ship for more than 21 days, and only found a slight debris field, just south of Key West. It was today, Feb. 21, 1963, that the Coast Guard called off the search for the SS Marine Sulphur Queen.  This podcast is brought to you by 43 Keys Media. You can find us at http://43keys.com.

The SS Marine Sulpher Queen Sinks Sparking Bermuda Triangle Conspiracy Theories - Feb. 21, 1963

David Wolkowsky became Mr. Key West. So much of the island charm and uniqueness has been preserved because of the actions of developer David Wolkowsky.  Born in Key West, he later moved to Miami when times got tough in the Keys. He returned to Key West when his father died and immediately began turn this island village into a respectable tourist destination. So many buildings around town still bear the mark of his influence, and his forethought has preserved Key West from becoming overtaken with sky scrapers and mega-developments. Nothing over 40 feet tall was his mandate! Wolkowsky built the Pier House Motel in 1967 and quickly turned it into a quirky retreat for writers, artists and creatives. He entertained the likes of Truman Capote and Jimmy Buffet. In fact, Jimmy Buffet says Wolkowsky was the first person to ever hire him. Jimmy played at the famous Chart Room Bar for awhile. It was today, Feb. 20, 1967 that David Wolkowsky began construction on the Pier House Motel. The Motel later opened in 1969. And that's what happened Today in Key West history. Today in Key West History is brought to you by 43 Keys Media. You can find us at http://43Keys.com. Photo Credit: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders for L’Uomo Vogue. Content courtesy of wikipedia.org.

Mr. Key West (David Wolkowsky) Begins Construction of the Pier House Motel in Key West - Feb. 20, 1967

BEFORE WORLD WAR II, the Ku Klux Klan was an important social and political force in Key West. And Manuel Cabeza ran afoul of that force. A native Conch and World War I veteran who was said to fear no one, Cabeza was deeply in love with a black woman, a well-known madam with whom he lived. In those days a white man might have a black mistress, but he was supposed to keep it strictly a backstreet affair. Manuel lived quite openly with his lover and so, a week before Christmas, 1921, the Klan visited him, bearing tar and feathers. Manuel fought with them and, during the struggle, managed to rip the masks off several of the faces so that he would later be able to identify them. Tar-and-feathering was not only excruciatingly painful, it often resulted in the victim's death. But Cabeza was tough and by Christmas Eve was recovered enough to take his revenge. He hired a taxi and began patroling Old Town, looking for the three men he had recognized. He caught up with William Decker, manager of one of Key West's large cigar factories on Duval Street. Cabeza fired a shot through the window of Decker's car, killing him. The taxi rolled on. But at the corner of Whitehead and Petronia, a group of Klan members caught up with Cabeza. According to newspaper accounts, "gunfire was exchanged." There was a standoff until two sheriff's officers arrived and Cabeza agreed to accompany them to the county jail. The sheriff called in Marines from the naval base (how about that for backup help?) to protect Cabeza from the Klan, but by midnight dismissed them, believing that all was quiet on the Key West front. Within an hour, five automobiles loaded with masked Klan members pulled up at the jail, and with pistols drawn, ordered the diminutive sheriff to let them in. The Klansmen proceeded to the second floor of the jail and beat Cabeza senseless with blackjacks. Then they dragged him down to the street, tied him to the rear bumper of the lead car and paraded him through the streets of Key West. Then they took him over to Flagler Avenue where they hanged him from a tree and riddled his body with bullets. This was the gruesome sight that greeted hundreds of Key Westers on Christmas morning of 1921. No one was ever arrested. This episode is brought to you by 43 Keys Media. You can learn more about us at http://43keys.com

A Repulsive Crime and a Blight on Key West History - Feb. 18, 1924

Edwin Oliver Gwynn Sr. was born on October 9, 1820 in New Providence, Bahamas. He was an auctioneer for a tobacco company that made cigars. In 1839, EO Gwynn married Anne Pinder, with whom he had one child, in Nassau. In April of 1851, Anne was granted a divorce from EO in Key West, on the basis of desertion.  In 1855, Gwynn married Mary Elizabeth Pinder in the Bahamas. By 1860, EO Gwynn had come to Key West - drawn by the burgeoning cigar industry.    In 1864, Gwynn was elected as Mayor of Key West, where he served 2 consecutive terms, ending in 1867. He was elected to a 3rd term in 1874, and his 4th and final term as Mayor started in 1881.    By 1878, E.O. Gwynn owned a cigar factory in Key West, and he was exploring ways to expand his cigar production without being dependent on importing the tobacco from Cuba. He purchased 500 pounds of leaf tobacco that had been grown in Miami. He hoped at that time that tobacco could be raised in Miami in sufficient quantity that Key West manufacturers would not have to depend on purchasing their tobacco from Cuban growers. The attempt by the Miami grower to produce larger quantities of tobacco were unsuccessful and the experiment of growing tobacco in Miami was stopped after just 3 years.   By 1883, E.O. Gwynn was functioning in the capacity as the State of Florida’s Deputy Surveyor, stationed in Key West.    And because its Valentine’s Day, we have to direct the conversation to love. Love Lane in Key West is one of the most confusing streets because there isn’t just one Love Lane, there are 2 - one coming off Fleming St. and another off Southard St, but not meeting mid-block. Some maps also indicate that Gwynn Street, named for former Mayor and Cigar Tycoon E.O. Wynn is the actual lane that runs off Southard St. And yet another source cites Johnny Cake Lane as perhaps making up the northern half of Love Lane, and perhaps one time it did. As it turns out now, both the Fleming side and the Southard side are now call Love Lane. It seems that the reason they don’t meet in the middle is because the bungalow that bisects the lane was built on the down low and over the decades it has been allowed to stand and grandfathered in.   And it was today, Feb. 14, 1884:  that E.O. Gwynn, a native of the Bahamas, died. He was one of the early cigar makers in Key West.   And that’s what happened Today in Key West History.   Today in Key West History is brought to you by 43 Keys Media. You can find us at http://43keys.com.     

Key West History - Feb. 14, 1884 - Cigar Tycoon and Former Mayor Dies

Key West and the surrounding Florida Keys are rich in history dating back to the Spanish Conquistadors. Each day holds a new opportunity to learn about the significant historical events that happened in Key West and the Florida Keys. These bite sized podcasts are a great way to brush up on your historical facts about this beautiful coral cay archipelago paradise that we call home!

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Today in Key West History

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