[FHStoday] TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY FOR AUGUST 24

[Nick Wynne]

TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 24
1862            Company H, 2nd Florida Cavalry, transferred this date from 
Marion County to Alachua County.  Under the command of Captain John J. 
Dickison, the unit was assigned to Camp Lee where it was to be outfitted 
for service in the field.

1867            The second governor of Florida, Thomas Brown, died on this 
date.  Brown was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on October 24, 
1785.  He served in the War of 1812, in the Virginia Legislature (1817), 
and was the chief clerk of the post office in Richmond.  In 1828, he moved 
to Florida to a plantation near Lake Jackson in Leon County.  After 
suffering monetary losses because of freezes, he entered the hotel 
business.  He leased and operated the Planters Hotel in Tallahassee and 
later built the City Hotel.  In 1834, Brown served as the Territorial 
Auditor.  In 1838, he was elected as the President of the Legislative 
Council, and in 1839 was a member of the Constitutional Convention.  Brown 
represented Leon County in the House of Representatives in the first state 
legislature (1845).  His primary goal as governor was to expand internal 
improvements, including the possibility of draining the Everglades.

1902            Officials at Florida Female College (now FSU) announced 
plans for the establishment of a kindergarten training department to begin 
with the opening of the Fall term.

1922            The failure of ice boats to arrive at Chokoloskee on 
schedule resulted in the loss of thousands of pounds of fish and 
alligators.  The resulting stench was described by one resident as creating 
an "awful perfume."

1992            Between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m., Hurricane Andrew struck South 
Florida with winds of 145 mph.  Some gusts of 164 to 175 mph were 
recorded.  As it made its way across the state, the wind velocity dropped 
to 125 mph, but soon elevated to 145 mph when the storm entered the Gulf of 
Mexico.
                 Andrew exacted a heavy toll in human life (more than 40 
persons) and in physical damage.  The damages inflicted by this great storm 
totaled more than $25 billion, with the agricultural sector sustaining more 
than $1.05 billion alone.  Some 12.7 million cubic yards of debris were 
eventually cleared from the hurrican area.  Homestead Air Force Base was 
demolished, approximately 920 vessels were destroyed, and the Turkey Point 
Nuclear Facility sustained damages near $100 million.
                 The center of the storm or the area of maximum winds was 
very small and covered an area of approximately 12 miles.  Weather experts 
reported a storm surge of 23 feet.  Despite the tremendous damage caused by 
Hurricane Andrew, had the storm come ashore just a few miles north of its 
impact area, the City of Miami with its large population would have been 
leveled.