Boca Grande and Hurricanes: 1935 Storm

sepia photograph of a garage and house with a flooded lawn — Photo showing the flooding after the Labor Day Hurricane in September 1935 at the Black family residence at south Boca Grande near Port Boca Grande. The garage can be seen on the left and their house in the back right with clothing drying on the clothesline. (September 1935)

This storm did serious damage to the Florida Keys and Carey Johnson described in his book, Boca Grande: The Early Days, that a 10,000-ton Japanese freighter, the Norfolk Maru, was being loaded with phosphate as the hurricane approached Port Boca Grande.

“The pilots were asked to move the ship away from the dock as she was beginning to roll and lurch against the pier.” The pilot, Captain Kingsmore Johnson, crawled out the dock to the ship but the sand and water were so fierce that even under full steam they were unable to move the ship away from the dock.

Boca Grande and Hurricanes: 1935 Storm

Tales of Island Life: November 2024