"Today in Florida History"

for June

1861                        Confederate mail service officially began today.

1861                        The Federal blockade of the City of Fernandina started today with the arrival of the Union ship, U.S.S. Perry, under the command of Lieutenant Enoch G. Parrott.

1864                        Federal troops moving out of Jacksonville surprised confederate troops at Camp John Milton on McGirt’s Creek and drove them toward Baldwin.  The Union troops numbered about 2,500.  They destroyed the Confederate camp.

1881                        The sale of 4 million acres of Florida public land to Hamilton Disston was approved today by the Florida Legislature.  Disston purchased the land for 25 cents an acre.  Through this sale, the State of Florida managed to avoid bankruptcy.

1899                        The City of Dunedin was incorporated today by the Florida Legislature.

1899                        The City of Vernon was incorporated today.

1905                        Jacksonville’s Carnegie Library, dedicated as the first free library in the eastern part of the Southern States, opened today. 

1909                        The Florida Citrus Exchange was organized in Tampa today.

1934                        Singer Patrick Aloysius Boone (“Pat”) was born today in Jacksonville.

1937                        Aviatrix Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan left Miami International Airport today as they continued their “round-the-world” flight.  The flight would end a few weeks later with the disappearance of the plane and its occupants.  The “Amelia Earhart Mystery” is still unsolved.

1964                        The U.S. Supreme Court reversed an earlier ruling by the Florida Supreme Court and ruled that school prayers and Bible readings in public schools were unconstitutional.

1969                        The Merritt Island Public Library was dedicated today.

1862                        Confederate troops surprised a detachment of 11 men from the U.S.S. Kingfisher on an expedition up the Aucilla River.  Two Union soldiers were killed and nine captured.

1864      A detachment of soldiers from the U.S.S. Sunflower destroyed a sizable salt works on the shores of Tampa Bay.  Four kettles, a quantity of salt, and several furnaces were also destroyed.

1865      Florida-born Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered his army to Federal forces today in Texas.

1878      The first meeting of an Episcopal congregation, which would become St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Cocoa, was held today in Cocoa.

1887      Citrus County, Florida’s 44th county, was created by the Florida Legislature today.  The county was named in honor of the state’s major agricultural crop.  County Seat:  Inverness

1887      Pasco County, Florida’s 45th county, was created by the Florida Legislature today.  The county was named in honor of Samuel Pasco, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and United States Senator.  County Seat:  Dade City

1897      Clearwater (formerly Clearwater Harbor) was incorporated today.  Clearwater was the site of the Seminole War Fort Harrison.

1897      The Town of Williston was incorporated today.

1915      The City of Inverness was incorporated today by the Florida Legislature. 

1953      Actress Diana Canova was born in West Palm Beach today.

1863      The U.S.S. Stars and Stripes captured the blockade runner Florida near St. Marks.  The Florida, a small sloop, was carrying a cargo of  6 bales of cotton and a barrel of tar.

1864      Confederate troops regain their positions at Camp John Milton on McGirt’s Creek, which had been overrun by Federal troops on June 1.

1865      A party of Confederate refugees, including General John C. Breckinridge, left the Indian River Lagoon near Jupiter Inlet today and headed for the open ocean.

1893      The City of Citra was incorporated today.

1905      The City of Blountstown was incorporated today. 

1906      Robert L. F. “Bob” Sikes, long-term Congressman from Crestview, was born today.  Sikes, known as the “Old He-Coon,” was born in Georgia.

1912      The Miami Beach Improvement Association was formed today. 

1943      Blackout tests and air raid drills were ordered for Florida’s coastal communities.

1965      The Gemini 4 spacecraft was launched today from Cape Canaveral.

1966      The Gemini 9 spacecraft was launched today from Cape Canaveral.

1828      The “El Destino” plantation, near Tallahassee, was purchased today by the Nuthall Family for $2350.00.  The plantation contained some 480 acres and was primarily a cotton growing operation.  [The “El Destino” records are part of the Tebeau Collection in the Alma Clyde Field Library of Florida History in Cocoa.]

1863      A boat from the U.S.S. Fort Henry captured a Confederate barge loaded with 39 bales of cotton at the mouth of the Crystal River.

1889      Saint Leo College, located in Pasco County, was established today.  Saint Leo College was a high school, military school, and is now a four-year degree granting institution with approximately 2,500 students on its home campus and an extensive network of satellite campuses on various military bases around the United States.  Among its more famous alumni were actor Lee Marvin, entertainer Ricky Ricardo, and the sons of Nicaragua’s former dictator, Samoza.

1913      Lake Worth, formerly the community of Lucerne, was incorporated today. 

1915      The City of Okeechobee was incorporated today by the Florida Legislature. 

1927      Fred H. Davis assumed the office of Florida Attorney General today.

1946      As the United States wound down from its war effort, many properties, used by the military during World War II, were returned to private or municipal owners.  Ti-Co Airport, near Titusville, was turned over to Brevard County today by the United States Navy, which had used it as an auxiliary landing field for its planes stationed in Orlando and at the Banana River Naval Air Station (now Patrick Air Force Base).

1968      Tropical storm Abby, formerly a category 1 hurricane, struck Punta Gorda today. 

1862      The Confederate steamer Havana was set ablaze today in Deadman’s Bay.  The steamer was fired to prevent her capture by the Federal ship Ezilda.

1883      Crescent City was incorporated today by the Florida Legislature.

1913      The City of Cedar Key was re-incorporated today.

1925      The municipal charter for Cocoa Beach, the Florida “boom” resort created by Cocoa attorney Gus Edwards, was approved by the Florida Legislature today. 

1941      The Highway 520 causeway linking the City of Cocoa to Merritt Island was dedicated today.  This causeway would prove extremely useful to U.S. military forces at the Banana River Naval Air Station (today’s Patrick Air Force Base) and to civilians patrolling the beaches for German U-boat activity.

1963      The Florida Supreme Court ruled today that cigarette manufacturers can be held liable in the deaths of smokers.

1991      The space shuttle (STS 40) was launched today from Cape Canaveral.

1995      Hurricane Allison made landfall between St. Georges Island and St. Marks in the Panhandle today.

1840      William Dudley Chipley, West Florida entrepreneur and railroad developer, was born today in Columbus, Georgia.

1863      The U.S.S. Tahoma captured the Confederate schooner Statesman in Tampa Bay.  The Tahoma’s crew was able to effect the capture despite harassing fire from a Confederate artillery battery.

1905      The City of Largo was incorporated today by the Florida Legislature.

1925      Gulf County, Florida’s 66th county, was created today by the Florida Legislature.  The county was named in honor of the Gulf of Mexico, which forms its southern boundary.  County Seat:  Port St. Joe

1939      Singer-songwriter Gary U S Bonds, nee Gary Anderson, was born today in Jacksonville.

1944      Thousands of Floridians and soldiers/sailors trained in Florida participated in the Normandy invasion today.  The Normandy operation marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.

1944      Florida College, the alma mater of evangelist Billy Graham, was chartered today in Temple Terrace.

1956      Crime novelist Patricia Cornwell was born today in Miami.

1990      A Fort Lauderdale Federal judge ruled the “2 Live Crew” album, As Nasty As They Wanna Be, as obscene and devoid of redeeming social or artistic value.

1995      Hurricane Allison continued to cut a path of destruction across Northern Florida today.  It would eventually cause one death and approximately $1.7 million in damages.

1837      More than 700 Seminoles slipped away from the United States Army and made their way to the Everglades as the program to transport Seminoles to Oklahoma began.

1862      Confederate General Joseph J. Finegan, commander of Middle and East Florida, has begun the construction of a seven-gun redoubt at Alum Bluff on the Apalachicola River. 

1873      African-American sawmill workers idled mills in North Florida today.  The workers, members of the Jacksonville Labor League, were seeking a 10-hour day and a minimum payment of $1.50 per day.

1913      Port St. Joe was incorporated today by the Florida Legislature.

1929      The City of Chiefland was incorporated today by the Florida Legislature.

1917      The first man in Cocoa to register for the newly created draft was  David W. Jones.  Jones was also the smallest man to register, measuring a mere 4 feet, 1 inch in height and weighing only 87 pounds.

1845      Andrew Jackson, general and former President of the United States, died today at the “Hermitage,” his plantation in Tennessee.  Jackson was especially important in the modern history of Florida, since he was largely responsible for its acquisition by the United States following his invasion of the then Spanish province.

1925      The charter for the City of Avon Park, founded in 1886, was approved by the Florida Legislature today.

1925      The Naval Aviation Museum at the Naval Air Station Pensacola was formally opened today.

1943      William Calley, the Army lieutenant convicted in the My Lai massacre in South Vietnam, was born today in Miami.

1864      The U.S.S. Proteus captured the British schooner R.S. Hood off the Florida coast today.

1865      The first African-American missionary, Reverend William G. Steward, arrived in Jacksonville today from Charleston to begin organizing churches for the newly liberated freedmen in the state. 

1891      The City of Clermont was incorporated today.  The city was later re-incorporated in 1917. 

1966      Hurricane Alma struck northwest Florida today, 20 miles east-northeast of Apalachicola. Alma caused $10 million and six deaths.

1862      United States Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles instructed units of the Federal navy to investigate rumors that Confederates had constructed a road from the northern Indian River Lagoon to Volusia that would allow them to escape the Union naval patrols. 

1863      The U.S.S. Fort Henry captured 250 bushels of corn belonging to Confederate Senator David levy Yulee today on a barge off the mouth of the Withlacoochee River.

1864      The United States’ steamer, Union, today captured the Confederate sloop Caroline off Jupiter Inlet. 

1865      The Midway African Methodist Episcopal Church was established today.

1919      Vero, now Vero beach, was incorporated today by the Florida Legislature.

1921      The Town of River Junction (now Chattahoochee) was incorporated today by the Florida Legislature.

1936      The first land for Hillsborough River State Park, near Zephyrhills, was acquired today.  The park, which opened in 1938, would become a favorite camping spot for the “Tin Can Tourists” who came to the Sunshine State. 

1963      Governor Farris Bryant signed a bill today to create Florida Technological University (Now the University of Central Florida) in Orlando.

1990      “2 Live Crew,” a rap group, was arrested today in Hollywood, Florida, for performing songs from their album that had already been ruled obscene by a Federal judge.

1862      The Union navy captured two Confederate vessels in the Gulf of Mexico today.  The U.S.S. Sesquehanna captured the Princeton, a blockade runner, while the U.S.S. Bainbridge captured the schooner Biagorry and its cargo of cotton.

1913      Preparations were underway today for tomorrow’s grand opening of the first bridge crossing to Miami Beach.

1925      The City of Clewiston was incorporated today.

1937      The City of Fort Walton was incorporated today.

1953      The sabal palmetto palm tree was designated as Florida’s official state tree today by the Florida Legislature. 

1964      Dr. Martin Luther King and seventeen companions were arrested today in St. Augustine (in violation of Florida’s unwanted guest law) for their attempt to desegregate a well-known and popular restaurant in the city.

1993      The United States Supreme Court ruled today that the City of Hialeah could not outlaw animal sacrifices for religious reasons. 

1565      French settlers at Fort Caroline continue to experience severe conditions, particularly the lack of food. 

1913      The first bridge crossing to Miami Beach opened today and signaled the intense development of that area.

1928      The first city elections were held today in Cocoa Beach.

1861      Confederate President Jefferson Davis has designated today as a Confederate “Day of Thanksgiving,” and has called for fasting and prayer for the protection of the Confederate States of America.

1863      The U.S.S. Sunflower today captured the Confederate blockade runner, Pushmataha, near the Tortugas.

1915      Okaloosa County, Florida’s 52nd county, was created by the Florida Legislature today.  The name of the county was derived for the Choctaw Indian language for “black water.”  The Blackwater River is located in the county.  Okaloosa County was created from land taken from Santa Rosa and Walton Counties.  County seat:  Crestview

1942      The City of Dania, which was originally founded as “Modello,” was chartered today by the Florida Legislature.

1974      Governor Reubin Askew announced the appointment of Dorothy Glisson as Florida Secretary of State, thus making her the state’s first female Cabinet officer.

1826      Captain Joseph Fry, called the “Cuban Martyr,” was born today in Tampa.  Fry was executed in 1873 by Spanish authorities for carrying Cuban rebels aboard his ship.

1863      The Federal ship, U.S.S. Somerset, shelled Confederate salt works on Alligator Bay, near St. George’s Sound.  Following the shelling, 65 Union sailors and marines were put ashore.  They destroyed 65 kettles, 200 bushels of salt, and thirty houses.

1934      The first bachelor’s degrees were awarded by the Jacksonville College of Music today.  The Jacksonville College of Music is now part of Jacksonville University.

1963      Marymount College in Boca Raton was founded today. 

1822      The City of Jacksonville was founded today.

1862      The U.S.S. Somerset and the U.S.S. Tahoma shelled the Confederate fort near the lighthouse at the St. Marks River.  When Confederate artillery units withdrew, Federal troops landed and burned the fort, the interior of the lighthouse, and the buildings used as barracks for the Confederate troops.

1863      G. Troup Maxwell announced today that he would be a candidate for the Confederate Congress from the Second Florida Congressional district.  General elections were scheduled for October.

1893      The City of Palmetto was incorporated today by the Florida Legislature.

1917      The “new” Cocoa High School was dedicated today. 

1931      North Miami Beach, originally chartered as “Fulford,” was reincorporated today by the Legislature. 

1978      Former Florida Supreme Court Justice David L. McCain was disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court for conduct undermining the judicial process.  McCain was disbarred for using his influence on lower court justices for his friends.

1779      Spain joined the fledgling United States of America today by declaring war against England.  Spain hoped to retrieve the colonies of East and West Florida lost to the English in 1763.  Spain would regain the territory in 1783.

1834      The stagecoach road between Tallahassee and Pensacola was delayed when the construction of the portion between Marianna and the Apalachicola River was delayed.  The U.S. Quartermaster, overseeing the project, brought charges of mismanagement against the contractor.

1862      The U.S.S. Somerset captured the British blockade runner, Curlew, off the coast near Cedar Key.

1863      The Circassian, a Union supply steamer, captured the Confederate sloop, John Wesley, off the coast of St. Marks today.  The Wesley was carrying a cargo of 12 bales of cotton. 

1864      Federal troops from the schooner J.S. Chambers, dispatched up the Waccasassa River, returned to their ship today with 12 bags of cotton.

1949      The first rural postal route, 57 miles long, began in Brevard County today.  The route originated from the Melbourne Post Office.

1955      NBA player Wayne “Tree” Rollins was born today in Winter Haven.

1955      Judge and Mrs. Chillingsworth of West Palm Beach mysteriously disappeared today.  They have never been seen or heard from since.

1970      The City of Miami experienced the first of what would become three days of rioting in the Liberty City area.

1838      Captain L. J. Beall and a detachment of twenty enlisted men from the 2nd U.S. Dragoons were attacked today at Kenahapa Prairie by a group of Seminoles.  Six enlisted men were wounded in the fray.  Seminole casualties were unknown. 

1871      James Weldon Johnson, African-American poet, teacher, activist, and diplomat, was born today in Jacksonville. 

1880      The first post office in Melbourne opened today. 

1929      The first regularly scheduled flight from North to South America departed Miami today.  Clipper airplanes, carrying mail and passengers, took four days to complete the trip to Miami to Cartagena, Colombia.

1942      Four German saboteurs from a U-boat landed today on Ponte Vedra Beach.    They were to link up with a second team of agents in New York.  All were arrested within three days, following the defection of one of the members, Walter Dasch,  and all of them, with the exception of Dasch, were subsequently executed.

1950      Betty Rowland of Rollins College won the Women’s National Intercollegiate Golf Championship today in Columbus, Ohio.

1958      Florida Presbyterian College, now Eckerd College, was founded today in St. Petersburg.

1862      The 7th Florida Infantry Regiment and the 1st Florida Cavalry joined Confederate troops in Tennessee.  The Confederate troops were under the command of St. Augustine native, Edmund Kirby Smith.

1863      The Federal schooner, John S. Chamber, today captured the British blockade runner Rebekah thirty miles west of Charlotte Harbor.  The Rebekah was carrying a cargo of whiskey.

1863      The U.S.S. Tahoma today captured the British blockade runner Harriet near Anclote Keys.  The Tahoma also chased another British ship, the Mary Jane, ashore near Clearwater.  The Mary Jane was destroyed by the Tahoma.

1919      Florida’s first Kiwanis Club was organized in Tampa today.

1953      KC and the Sunshine Band guitarist, Jerome Smith, was born today in Miami.

1983      Dr. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space today when she rode the space shuttle into orbit.

1990      James Edward Pough gunned down eight people in a Jacksonville loan office today.

1915      Mrs. Zena M. Drier cast the first non-school board election ballot in the Fellsmere municipal election.

1947      Although in use since 1939, the Banana River Naval Air Station (now Patrick Air Force Base) was dedicated today.

1861      The First Florida Cavalry began assembling at Camp Mary David, six miles south of Tallahassee.  The unit will be activated for Confederate service in two weeks.

1862      The U.S.S. Beauregard captured the blockade runner Lucy off Deadman’s Point Key today.

1862      Colonel J. J. Finley and the 6th Florida Infantry regiment arrived in Chattanooga today.

1864      An armed expedition from the U.S.S. Iuka returned from a raid up the Waccasassa River today.  The raiders brought with them twenty-seven bales of captured cotton.

1918      Ralph Rubin, a Cocoa man, was credited with discovering a German spy on a train as he came home on his first leave from service.

1968      The Orlando Art Association was renamed the Loch Haven Art Center, Incorporated today.

1846      The first issue of the Whig Banner was published today in Palatka.  The Whig Banner was the first newspaper published in that city.

1884      John Wellborn Martin, the 24th governor of Florida, was born today in Marion County.  (For more information, see entries for January 6 and February 22.)

1887      The City of Welaka was incorporated by the Florida Legislature today. 

1982      The Florida Senate, meeting in special session, declined to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

1993      The space shuttle (STS-57) was launched today from Cape Canaveral.

1948      Today control of the Banana River Naval Air Station was transferred to the United States Air Force, which made it the headquarters for the Long Range Missile Testing program.

1961      The City of Lauderdale Lakes was incorporated today.

1965      The Florida Legislature chartered Florida International University today.

1827      A Catholic Mass was conducted today in Tallahassee by Monsignor Michael Portier, the Bishop of Mobile.

1845      James A. Berthelot of Tallahassee was elected as the first President of the Florida Senate today.

1862      The U.S.S. Pursuit captured the Confederate sloop Kate today.  The Kate had sailed from Nassau with an assorted cargo.

1863      The U.S.S. Beauregard  has been assigned blockade duty north of Cape Canaveral and Mosquito Inlet.

1881      The City of Hawthorne was incorporated today.

1938      Marineland, then called marine Studios, opened today near St. Augustine.  More than 30,000 tourists, scientists and photographers attended.

1972      Hurricane Agnes struck Florida with a vengeance today.  In her stay in the Sunshine State, twenty-five people would die.

1823      Gadsden County, Florida’s fifth county, was established today.  The county is named in honor of James Gadsden, an aide-de-camp to Andrew Jackson during the 1818 campaign.  County Seat:  Quincy

1845      Hugh Archer of Leon County was elected the first Speaker of the Florida State House of Representatives today.

1863      The U.S.S. Tahoma today captured a Confederate flatboat in a bayou near the Manatee River.  The flatboat was carrying a cargo of sugar and molasses.

1950      The first German V-2 rocket was launched today from Cape Canaveral.  Captured German rockets became the basis of the United States’ early missile program.

1564      The Fort Caroline colony, located on a bluff above the St. Johns River, was started today by Rene Laudonniere.

1845      Governor William Moseley was inaugurated as Florida’s first governor today.

1863      The U.S.S. Sagamore captured the British schooner Frolic off the Crystal River.  The Frolic carried a cargo of cotton and turpentine.

1864      The U.S.S. Proteus today captured a British steamer, the Jupiter, off the east coast of Florida.  All cargo had been thrown overboard prior to capture.

1868      Florida was conditionally re-admitted to the United States today.  federal occupation of the state, however, would not end until 1877.

1992      The space shuttle (STS-50) was launched today from Cape Canaveral.

1549      Fray Luis Cancer de Barbastro, a Dominican friar working in the St. Petersburg area as a missionary to Native Americans, was clubbed to death by members of the Calusa tribe.

1864      The U.S.S. Norfolk Packet captured the blockade running sloop, Sarah Mary, off Mosquito Inlet today.  The Sarah Mary was carrying a cargo of cotton.

1893      The first rails of Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railroad reached the Brevard County community of Eau Gallie today.

1907      The first public school term in Panama City ended today.

1862      The 2nd Florida Infantry Regiment, fighting at Ellison’s Mill, Virginia, lost 8 soldier killed today and 52 wounded.  Among the soldiers killed was Captain G. W. Parkhill.

1911      Joe Lang Kershaw, the first African-American male to be elected to the Florida House of representatives in the 20th Century, was born today in Live Oak.  Kershaw was elected to the House in 1968 and represented Dade County.

1982      The space shuttle (STS-4) was launched today from Cape Canaveral. 

1566      Three Spanish Jesuit monks--Father Rogel, Father Martinez and Brother Villareal--left Spanish to join Pedro Menendez de Aviles in Florida.  Their purpose was to Christianize the Native Americans in the peninsula.

1863      Boats from the U.S.S. Fort Henry captured the schooner Anna Maria in the Steinhatchee River.  The Anna Maria was carrying a cargo of cotton. 

1864      Troops boarded three Federal ships today at Punta Rassa to sail north to Bayport.  This was preliminary to an attack on Brooksville.

1817      General Gregor McGregor and his crew of adventurers captured Amelia Island today in the name of the combined governments of Mexico, Venezuela and New Granada.

1864      Master W. L. Martine, commanding the U.S.S. Roebuck, dispatched a shore crew of twelve sailors to investigate rumors of increased blockade running near Jupiter Inlet. 

1931      The highest temperature ever recorded in Florida was reached today at Monticello.  The high mark was 109 degrees.

1936      First lands acquired for O’Leno Recreation Area near High Springs.

1778      British troops turned back attacking Americans in a skirmish at Alligator Creek, near Callahan.

1871      An application was filed with the U.S. Postmaster today for a post office at  Arlington.  Arlington was later renamed Eau Gallie.

1862      The 2nd Florida Infantry regiment sustained heavy losses today in the Battle of Frazier’s farm in Virginia.

1864      Troops from the U.S.S. Roebuck today captured the Confederate sloop Last Resort in Jupiter Inlet.  The sloop was carrying a cargo of six bales of cotton.

1936      Actress Nancy Dussault was born today in Pensacola.

1945      University of Miami tennis star Francisco “Pancho” Segura won his third consecutive national collegiate tennis championship today in straight sets.  His opponent was Lt. Frank Mehner of the U.S. Military Academy.