President Andrew Johnson received a delegation from the Yankton, Santee, and Upper Missouri Sioux tribes in the East Room at the White House.  This group was one of several Native American delegations who were in Washington during the early months of 1867.  (By John Osborne)

The purpose-built Storrs School for Freedmen, with room for 250 pupils and the first of its kind in the state of Georgia, was officially dedicated on this day in Atlanta.  The secretary of the American Missionary Association, Reverend E.M. Cravath attended, his body having sanctioned and funded the construction. The Reverend Henry Martyn Storrs and his congregation of the First Orthodox Congregational Church in Cincinnati, Ohio had donated a large portion of the $8000 cost and the school was given his name. (By John Osborne)

Saint Valentine's Day is celebrated around the United States.  (By John Osborne)

During the early morning hours the East River in New York City, helped by ice flowing downstream, froze over in three places sufficient to cause an ice bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn.  This rare happening brought New Yorkers out to venture across the bridge and in several cases people had to be rescued when the ice shifted.  The disruption of the ferries, however, is credited with the decision of a need for a permanent man-made bridge across the East River and the subsequent construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.  (By John Osborne)

The ten years old, five story Hyatt House Hotel was the most impressive building in the center of Janesville, Wisconsin until an early morning fire broke out in the kitchens.  The rapid spread of the fire caused an immediate alarms and, remarkably, most guests were able to escape.  On young woman, a hotel employee named Margaret Emerson, however, was trapped on the top floor of the building and died in the flames.  The destruction of the hotel was complete and immediate complaints were raised in the city as to the ineffectiveness of the local fire department.  (By John Osborne)