Jacksonville, Florida
Henry Morrison Flagler, founder of the Standard Oil Company and the Florida East Coast Railroad and Hotel Company, died at his home in West Palm Beach at the age of eighty-three on this date in 1913. Flagler facilitated and greatly accelerated the development of Florida Read More …
The Florida Keys seceded from the Union and the Conch Republic was born on this date in 1982. On April 18, 1982, the United States Border Patrol set up a roadblock just south of Florida City, on U.S. Highway 1, to catch illegal immigrants traveling Read More …
The first train of Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railroad arrived in Miami on this date in 1896. A year earlier, Henry Flagler and Julia Tuttle, Miami’s founder, had reached a deal which would eventually grant Flagler half of Mrs. Tuttle’s land north of the Read More …
The newly formed Florida Marlins professional baseball team won their first-ever regular season game on this date in 1993. The Marlins faced the Los Angeles Dodgers and won the game 6-3, with Charlie Hough as their starting pitcher. After a rough first few seasons, the Read More …
The British controlled Florida for 20 years (1763-1783)? Moving to Florida today seems like an easy decision – surf, sand, and whole lot more! However, when the British took over in the 18th century, Florida was a much more difficult “sell.” The average Britain knew Read More …
The St. Augustine City Council passed an ordinance on this date in 1832 authorizing the creation of tax-supported free schools in the city. This was one of the earliest such ordinances in the American South and in the nation. St. Augustine is the oldest continuously Read More …
Perry was commanding the U.S. schooner “Shark” and, having received his orders in February, proceeded to visit Key West and erect a flagpole flying the United States flag. The event was witnessed by local residents of the small community. Families had been moving to the Read More …
WTVJ-TV, Miami’s first television station, aired its first broadcast at noon on this date in 1949. It was the first television station in Florida and only the sixteenth in the entire country. The station was originally owned by Wometco Enterprises and carried all four major Read More …
Ossian B. Hart, Florida’s first native-born governor, was born in Jacksonville on this date in 1821. His father, Isaiah Hart, was one of the founders of the city of Jacksonville and the family lived on a plantation on the banks of the St. Johns River. Read More …
Clay County, Florida’s thirty-seventh, was created on this date in 1858 by carving out part of Duval County in northeast Florida. Named after American statesman Henry Clay, the U.S. senator from Kentucky and secretary of state under President John Quincy Adams, its county seat is Read More …
The home of John Ringling opened to the public on this date in 1946. Ringling was one of five brothers who owned and operated the Ringling Brothers Circus, known at the time as “The Greatest Show on Earth.” John Ringling became one of the wealthiest Read More …
On this date in 1992 – Between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. on this date, Hurricane Andrew struck south Florida with sustained winds of 145 mph. Some gusts of 164 to 175 mph were recorded. As Andrew made its way across the state, the wind velocity dropped Read More …
July 16, 1969 Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Ed Aldrin, and Michael Collins launched from the John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral aboard the Apollo 11 spacecraft on this date. Apollo 11 was the fifth manned mission of the Apollo program, and its target was Read More …