"Today in Florida History"

for February

1840                        Members of the 7th U.S. Infantry, under the command of Captain H. H. Holmes, were attacked by Seminole warriors near Fort Number 5 [?].  One enlisted man was killed and two wounded.

1861      Two companies of Confederate volunteers have been assigned to guard the Chattahoochee Arsenal, while some 1,500 Confederate troops from Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama were encamped at Pensacola Bay.  Several batteries have been set up facing Forts Pickens, Barrancas and McRee.

1862      A Union gunboat anchored near the St. marks Lighthouse today and began to shell the salt works near there.  The Confederate gunboat Spray moved into the area and exchanged shots with the Federal boat.  Elsewhere, the schooner Isabel  was captured today in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast by the U.S.S. Montgomery.

1863      The U.S.S. Tahoma captured the British schooner Margaret near St. Petersburg.  A second Union ship, the U.S.S. Hendrick Hudson assisted in the capture.  In other action, the U.S.S. Stars and Stripes bombarded a Confederate encampment at Long Bar near St. Marks today.  A Confederate steamer was also fired on by the Union ship.

1881      Henry A. L’Engle was sworn into office today as Florida’s Treasurer. 

1882      The Jewish Reform Synagogue, Congregation Ahavath Chesed was founded today in Jacksonville.  Mayor Morris A. Dzialinski was the first president.

1920      The North Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America was chartered today in Jacksonville.  The first Scout troop was chartered in Jacksonville in 1910.

1929      The Edward W. Bok Singing Tower and Bird Sanctuary in Lake Wales was dedicated today by President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge.  Governor Doyle E. Carlton also participated.

1939      The Gulfstream Park race Track at Hallandale opened for its first thoroughbred racing meeting.

1946      Guitarist Howard Bellamy was born in Darby, Florida, today.

1958      The United States launched its first space satellite into orbit around the Earth today.  The 30.8 pound Explorer satellite was put into orbit by a Jupiter-C rocket that lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 10:48 a.m.

1959      Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500 motor race today.

1961      The Strategic Air Command launched the first solid-fuel rocket, Minuteman, today from the Eastern Test range facilities (Cape Canaveral).  The rocket was a multi-stage rocket that successfully fired all stages.

1831      The Bank of St. Augustine was chartered today.

1841      Madison Court House, the name originally given to present day Madison, was incorporated today.

1861      Governor Madison Starke Perry addressed a request to the Florida Legislature to reorganize and strengthen the Florida militia in order to protect the state against a possible Union attack.

1862      The Confederate War Department in Richmond today requisitioned two-and-one-half war regiments from the State of Florida for service in the Confederate Army.

1863      A Federal naval officer on a reconnaissance mission on the Indian River reported the discovery of several packages and 41 sacks of salt in a cache near Jupiter Inlet.  He destroyed them all.

1864      Federal Major General Quincy A. Gillmore, commander of the Department of the South, requests the support of two or three gunboats for a planned occupation on the west bank of the St. Johns River. 

1865      Confederate Major General Sam Jones assumed command of the District of Florida today.  At sea, the U.S.S. Pinola captured the British blockade runner, Ben Willis, in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast,  The Willis carried a cargo of cotton for British textile mills.

1892      Citizens in St. Petersburg voted 15-11 today to seek incorporation of that city.

1901      Fort Pierce, named for General Benjamin K. Pierce, brother of President Franklin Pierce, was incorporated today. 

1914      Lieutenant J. H. Towers and Ensign G. Chevalier made the first flight from the Pensacola Aeronautical Station today.  The twenty minute flight covered the military reservation and Bayou Grande.

1951      Snow began to fall in north and central Florida today.  Crescent City and St. Augustine were receiving the heaviest amounts.

1986      NASA, continuing its investigation of the January 28 explosion of the Shuttle Challenger, today revealed that the shuttle’s solid fuel rocket boosters were not equipped with an adequate warning system.

1768      Dr. Andrew Turnbull arrived in Minorca today to begin the recruitment of 1,400 Greek, Minorcan, Italian, French and Corsican settlers for his planned colony at New Smyrna.

1862      The Confederate steamer Florida had reportedly successfully eluded Federal ships blockading the coast of Florida and was safely at sea. 

1862      The annual meeting of the stockholders of the Union Bank of Florida was held today in the bank’s offices in Tallahassee.

1864      Governor John Milton, planning to leave Tallahassee, received a telegram today warning him that about 100 deserters have organized to capture him and turn him over to the Federal ships blockading the Gulf Coast. 

1865      The British schooner John Hale , flying the English colors, was captured today near St. marks by the Union schooner Matthew Vassar.  The Hale’s cargo consisted of lead, rope, blankets, and shelter covers.  Union officers suspect that the Hale’s crew had thrown arms and ammunition overboard prior to capture.

1926      The first broadcast of Pensacola’s WCOA Radio was piped to the assembled crowd in Plaza Ferdinand.

1951      Snow continued to fall today in north and central Florida.  Trace amounts were found as far south as Lakeland.  Crescent City and St. Augustine have received two inches of the “white rain.”

1984      The Space Shuttle Challenger (STS 41-b) was launched successfully from Cape Canaveral today.  The Challenger carried five astronauts.

1994      Mission STS-60  (the space shuttle) was launched today from Cape Canaveral.

1832      Columbia County, the state’s 16th county,  was created by the Florida Legislature today.  The county was named for the poetic name of the United States.  County Seat:  Lake City

1836      Dade County, Florida’s 19th county, was created by the Legislature today.  The county was named in honor of Major Francis Langhorne Dade, United States Army, who, along with 106 men, perished today in an Seminole Indian ambush near present-day Bushnell.  Dade County was the most populous county in the state.  County Seat:  Miami

1861      Delegates from Florida join with delegates from Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana today in Montgomery, Alabama, to organize the provisional government of the Confederate States of America.

1863      A crew for the U.S.S. Sagamore today captured the Confederate schooner Pride near the Indian River Narrows.  The Pride’s cargo of 188 bushels of salt and its crew were captured.

1864      A boat from the Federal schooner, Beauregard, sent to Jupiter Inlet to look for blockade runners today captured the Confederate boat Lydia, which was on her way to the Inlet from Sand Point.  The Lydia was carrying two bales of cotton and five barrels of turpentine.

1864      Union General Quincy A. Gillmore continued preparations for his attack on the west bank of the St. Johns River.  Federal Brigadier General Truman Seymour was ordered to load his troops on ships in preparation for a rendezvous with other Union units at the mouth of the St. Johns.

1897      Duncan U. Fletcher was elected the president of the Jacksonville Bar Association today.

1931      Sir Malcolm Campbell set a ground speed record of 245 mph today at Daytona Beach. 

1945      The18th Engineering Battalion, United States Army, arrives at the United States Naval Amphibious Training Base in Fort Pierce.  The unit, which has been reassigned to Fort Pierce, has just completed 32 months of duty in the Yukon.

1861      The Florida Senate approves a bill to incorporate the town of Monticello in Jefferson County. 

1862      The U.S.S. Keystone State captured the British blockade runner, Mars, off the coast at Fernandina.  The Mars was carrying a cargo of salt. 

1864      The U.S.S. DeSoto today captured the Confederate blockade runner Cumberland  in the Gulf of Mexico.  The Cumberland, a 700-ton steamer, was carrying a cargo of guns and ammunition, including 100 barrels of gunpowder.

1912      J. C. Luning was installed as Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture today.  He would hold this post for a mere 14 days.

1926      The City of Miami Shores was incorporated today.  Originally settled in 1905 as Arch Creek Farms, the town later became known as the City of North Miami.

1940      The first papers of incorporation of Barry College were filed today.  Barry College is located in Miami. 

1845      The first session of the Florida Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met in Tallahassee today.

1870      Governor Harrison Reed  received the news that his impeachment and removal for office had been recommended by a state legislative committee.  This was the third of four unsuccessful attempts to remove the Republican chief executive.

1875       Four thousand acres were purchased today from the state Internal Improvement Department today.  This acreage became the site of the City of orange City, which was started in 1876 with the sale of housing lots to prospective residents.

1897      Millard Fillmore Caldwell, 29th governor of Florida (1945-1949), was born today in his parent’s home near Knoxville, Tennessee.  He attended Carson-Newman College, the University of Mississippi, and the University of Virginia.  Caldwell came to Florida in 1924.  In 1929, he was elected to represent Santa Rosa County in the Florida House of Representatives.  In 1933, he was elected to the U.S. House of representatives from Florida’s 3rd District.  In 1941, he retired to private law practice.  In 1944, he was elected governor.  His administration was considered very progressive.  In 1962, Caldwell was appointed a Justice, Supreme Court of Florida.  He was elected for a full term that same year.  In 1967, he was elected Chief Justice.  Caldwell retired in 1969.  He died in Tallahassee on October 23, 1984.

1900      Eugene V. Debs, the leader of the Socialist Party of the United States, gave a lecture to some 55,000 persons today at Tampa’s Court House Plaza.

1907      Maas Brothers department Stores were incorporated today.  originally founded by Abe Maas on Franklin Street in Tampa in October 1886, Maas Brother’s became a statewide chain of stores by the 1960s. 

1956      Florida’s first Jordan-Marsh department Store opened at 1501 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami today.

1806      The United States Senate approved a secret appropriations of $2 million to be used for the possible purchase of Florida.

1863      Federal naval authorities report the destruction of two casks of sperm oil, 47 sacks of salt, and one boat sail near Jupiter Inlet.  These materials were presumed to be Confederate stores.

1864      Union troops under General Truman A. Seymour landed at Jacksonville.  This was the fourth occupation of the city by a Union army.  The troops were to be used in a major Federal push into the center of the Sunshine State, a push that would culminate with the Battle of Olustee on February 20.  Many of the African-American troops in the Union force were former free blacks and runaway slaves from the north Florida area.

1864      The Confederate steamer St. Mary’s, trapped in McGirt’s Creek above Jacksonville, was sunk by  the U.S.S. Norwich.  The steamer’s cargo of cotton was destroyed to prevent capture by Union forces.

1893      The first edition of the Tampa Evening Times published.

1969      Diane Crump became the first female jockey in thoroughbred racing when she raced at Hialeah.

1979      Gwen Sawyer Cherry, the first African-American woman to serve in the Florida Legislature, was killed today in a one-car accident in Tallahassee.  Born in 1923, Ms. Cherry received her law degree from FAMU, where she taught classes.  She was first elected in 1970 to represent Dade County in the House of Representatives.

1571      Father John Baptist Segura, Vice-Provincial of Catholic [Jesuit] missions in Florida, and eleven companions were killed today at their mission on the Rappahannock River near the Chesapeake Bay.  This was part of the plan of Pedro Menendez de Aviles to explore the land north of present-day Florida to find the northwest passage to the Pacific Ocean and the Far East.  As a result of this episode, the Jesuits abandoned their attempts to convert Florida Native Americans to Catholicism in 1572.

1832      The Territorial Legislature of Florida repealed an anti-dueling law, which again made it legal for gentlemen to settle their differences through personal combat.

1832      The Merchants and Planters Bank of Magnolia was incorporated today.

1832      Franklin County, Florida’s 17th county, was established today.  The county was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin.  County Seat:  Apalachicola

1837      Lieutenant Colonel William T. Harney and his small force were attacked today at Camp Monroe by some 200 Seminole Indians led by King Philip and Coacoochee.  The U.S. Army lost 1 officer killed and eleven enlisted men wounded before the attack was beaten off.  Captain Charles Mellon of the 2nd United States Artillery was the officer killed.  The name of the encampment was changed from Camp Monroe to Fort Mellon to honor this fallen hero.

1861      LaVilla Institute and the College of St. Augustine were incorporated today.

1861      Baker County, the state’s 38th county, was established today.  The county was named in honor of James McNair Baker (1822-1892, Confederate States Senator and Judge of the 4th Judicial District in Florida.  County Seat:  MacClenny  

1861      Polk County, Florida’s 39th county, was established today.  Named in honor of James Knox Polk, the 11th president of the United States (1845-1849).  County Seat:  Bartow

1861      The Confederate Constitution has been approved by the delegates to the Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, and has been submitted to the Southern states for their approval.

1913      The Colonial Dames Club of Tampa was organized today.

1957      Vanna White, whose fame rests on her ability to turn selected letters on the game-show “Wheel of Fortune,” was born today in Miami.

1958      The Daytona Beach International Speedway Corporation was organized today.

1837      Captain George W. Allen and Company K of the 4th United States Infantry were attacked today near Clear River by Seminole Indians.  One U. S. officer was killed in the skirmish.

1838      General Thomas S. Jesup, the commander of United States troops in Florida, reported that in his opinion “...the prospect of terminating this [Seminole] war in any reasonable time is anything but flattering.  My decided opinion is that unless immediate emigration be abandoned, this war will continue for years to come, and at constantly accumulating expense.”  Jesup proposed that the area west of the Kissimmee River, Lake Okeechobee, and Panai-Okee and east of Pease Creek and south to the extreme end of Florida be set aside for the Seminoles.  The Secretary of War did not approve this plan, and some 500 Seminoles, who had entered Jesup’s camp on the strength of this recommendation, were seized and transported to Tampa for the purpose of removal to the West.

1861      The steamer Everglade today unloaded its cargo of 1,500 muskets at Fernandina.  The muskets were from the Charleston Arsenal.

1861      The U.S.S. Brooklyn arrived off Pensacola today with troops to support the Union occupation force at Fort Pickens.  The troops were not off loaded as both Union and Florida forces maintain an uneasy peace in the area.

1861      Jefferson Davis of Mississippi has been elected Provisional President of the Confederate States of America.  Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, an opponent of secession, has been elected Vice-President.

1863      The Quincy extension of the Pensacola and Georgia Railroad began operations today.  The train trip from Quincy to Tallahassee took only two hours.  The train continued to its terminus at Lake City.

1864      The Union gunboat Para sailed thirty miles up the Nassau River today, shelling the woods along both sides of the river and taking an inventory of several lumbering plants.

1864      The 97th Pennsylvania, a Federal force encamped at Fernandina, today raided the surrounding area and captured a small force of Confederates in a nearby swamp.

1864      Union forces today occupied Baldwin (about 19 miles west of Jacksonville) and captured cotton, artillery pieces, a train of cars, and enough forage for 1,000 men in the field for four days.

1864      A small skirmish occurred between Confederate cavalry units and Federal forces at the south fork of the St. Marys River.  The Union forces successfully forded the river and captured the village of Sanderson, some thirty miles west of Jacksonville.  Retreating Confederate forces set fire to supplies of cotton, corn, and turpentine.

1915      The Subtropical Mid-Winter Fair, which was inaugurated by a parade of 150 horse and automobile-drawn floats, opened today in Orlando.

1942      The first Congressional Medal of Honor awarded in World War II was presented posthumously to Sandy Nittinger of Fort Lauderdale.

1967      Today marked the beginning of what would eventually become a record 768 consecutive days of sunshine in the Sunshine State.

1973      The first measurable snow since 1958 cover a portion of the Sunshine State.  Pensacola reported two inches. DeFuniak Springs and Quincy reported similar amounts.  Trace amounts were reported as far south as Clermont.  Unofficial reported put the accumulated total of 6 to 8 inches at Jay.

1831      The City of Monticello was incorporated today.

1834        The Tallahassee Railroad Company was incorporated today.  This railroad, utilizing “mule power,” stretched from Tallahassee to Port Leon (near St. Marks), a total of 22 miles.

1836      General Edmund P. Gaines, whose command of the U. S. Western Military Department included part of Florida, arrived today at Fort Brooke with six companies of the 4th  U.S. Infantry and a regiment of Louisiana Volunteers.

1864      Union forces today encountered Confederate outposts a few miles east of Lake City.  The Federal troops captured about 20 Confederates and destroyed almost $1 million in property.  Federal forces lost 5 men killed and 10 wounded.

1899      Electric street lights brought daylight to nighttime as Avenue B and 12th Street in Miami were illuminated by artificial means. 

1832      The City of Jacksonville was incorporated today by the Territorial Legislature.

1863      Colonel J. S. Morgan of the 90th Regiment of New York Volunteers, headquartered at Key West,  today issued an order that “All white persons residing within the limits of this command having husbands, sons or brothers in Rebel employment, or who have at any time declined taking the oath of allegiance to the U.S. Government were hereby required to transport in person at these headquarters on or before Tuesday, the 17th instant, and register their names.”

1883      The Leesburg Methodist Church was dedicated today.

1894      Henry Flagler opened his “Royal Ponciana Hotel” today in Palm Beach.  The “Ponciana” was the world’s largest wooden resort hotel.  [Some argue that the “Belleview,” built by Henry Plant on the West Coast, deserved this distinction.  The “Belleview” is still in operation and certainly holds undisputed claim to the title today.”]

1920      Daniel “Chappie” James, Jr., the first African-American to achieve four-star rank in the armed forces of the United States, was born in Pensacola.

1984      The first landing of a space shuttle at Kennedy Space Center [Cape Canaveral] occurred today.

1984      Responding to pressure from South Florida’s conservative Cuban population, the Reagan Administration announced today that Cuban aliens will be granted residency status in the United States.  Haitian refugees were denied the same treatment.

1993      Janet Reno, Chief State Prosecutor of Dade County, was nominated to become the first female U.S. Attorney General by President Bill Clinton.

1842      One American officer and one enlisted man were killed today in a confrontation between Seminole Indians and Company H of the 8th U.S. Infantry at Wahoo Swamp.

1861      The reverend A. D. Pellicer, formerly a resident of Sr. Augustine, rendered the opening prayer for the opening of the Confederate Congress.

1864      Federal forces commanded by Brigadier General Truman Seymour have concentrated at Baldwin in preparation for a major push westward into the heart of Florida.

1887      The City of Tarpon Springs was incorporated today.

1894      The oldest Florida chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was founded today in Jacksonville. 

1899      Tallahassee recorded a temperature of -2 degrees F today.  This is thought to be the lowest temperature ever reached in Florida.  This was also the date of the greatest snowfall on record for the Sunshine State, as well as the greatest southern extension of snow.  Four inches were reported at Lake Butler, 3.5 inches at Marianna, 3 inches at Lake City, and trace amounts as far south as Fort Myers, Avon Park, and Titusville.

1903      Edward Waters College, one of Florida’s oldest colleges for African-Americans, was re-chartered in Jacksonville today.

1963      A Northwest Orient Airlines plane crashed in stormy weather north of Miami today.  Forty-three persons were killed.