President's Day

February 21st

Did you know?

Presidents' Day never falls on the actual birthday of any American president. Four chief executives—George Washington, William Henry Harrison, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan—were born in February, but their birthdays all come either too early or late to coincide with Presidents' Day, which is always celebrated on the third Monday of the month.

Above: An 1890s poster showing Washington's Birthday as February 22, the date uon which it always fell before being changed by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This poster was done by American illustrator Edward Penfield who was born in 1866 and died in 1925.

Beginning in the year 1800, February 22^nd was an unofficial observance for most of the 1800s as a celebration to honor George Washington’s birthday. Washington had died the previous year. Click on the red tab below for the history.

In 1921, Riomar had many seasonal residents from Ohio. They prevailed upon then President Elect Warren Harding (native of Marion, Ohio) to visit Vero. Harding's houseboat anchored at a Riomar dock and he played a round of golf there. On his return voyage, he anchored overnight near Sebastian.

Harding visited Vero a second time in March 1923, playing another round of golf at Riomar. Harding died a few months later, in August 1923, of a heart attack while in San Francisco.

These visits by Harding were prior to Vero becoming Vero Beach and before our area separated from the northern part of St. Lucie Co. to become Indian River County in 1925.