On This Day in Key West - March 30th

Today Florida became a US territory. On this date in 1822, the United States merged East and West Florida to become the Territory of Florida. The first territorial govenor was William Pope Duval. Duval Street here in Key West is named after him. Earlier in the year, on January 19, 1822, Key West had been purchased from Juan Pablo Salas, a Spaniard, by John Simonton, an American.