POLITICAL HISTORY
But his overachieving didn’t stop there. At the
University of Florida, he pledged Sigma Phi
Epsilon, was a member of the Blue Key Honor
Society, and won election as president of the student
government. Just out of college, he was
elected to the Florida Legislature and later
became the youngest speaker of the House in
Florida history.
He had an unsuccessful bid for governor in
1948 but won handily in 1952.
“When he ran for governor, the whole town
was in awe because, in 1952, this was a tiny little
place,” said JoAnn Holman, who was working
for the city utilities department at the time
and later went on to become the St. Lucie
County clerk of courts. “It was the talk of the
town. It was the most wonderful thing that
happened to Fort Pierce.”
But the town’s exhilaration didn’t last long.
McCarty, 41, suffered a debilitating heart attack
less than two months after being sworn into
office, and died Sept. 28, 1953. A dispatch in the
Fort Pierce News-Tribune the next day summarized
the mood:
“Gov. Dan McCarty’s grieving hometown
today sadly awaited the return of its foremost
citizen,” wrote News-Tribune reporter Bob
Enns. “Business and government continued in
Fort Pierce, but it was at a pace stricken with
the realization that the town’s favorite son had
died during the night.”
HOUSE ON THE DRIVE
The story of Dan McCarty begins in a small
white house that still stands on Indian River
Drive and Boston Avenue downtown, though it is
in danger of being demolished.
McCarty’s father, Daniel Thomas McCarty
Sr., built the house for his wife, Frances, in
1905. Their son, the future governor, was born
Jan. 18, 1912. They had three more children,
John, Brian and Lela. Dan Sr. died in 1922, leaving
his wife to run the family citrus business
and rear their children.
Fort Pierce lawyer Curtis Boyd owns the house
today. The city’s Historic Preservation Board last
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Fort Pierce residents attend a rally for Dan McCarty’s gubernatorial campaign in 1952.
Dan McCarty, right, works in his
campaign office in Fort Pierce. At
left is Earl Powers of Gainesville.
A campaign envelope from
1952 heralds McCarty’s
slogan: Dan’s the Man!