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Pompano Beach History
Before Modern Settlement
Long before the European discovery of America, southern Florida was the home of the Tequesta Indians. They adapted their lifestyle to the area’s subtropical environment, living in small villages near the water, but frequently moving to be close to the sea life and game that made up an important part of their daily diet. Our knowledge of the Tequesta is not extensive, but we do know they engaged in religious ceremonies, and buried their dead in earthen mounds. One such mound remains in Pompano Beach, near the beach.
With the coming of European settlements, the local indigenous population fell victim to diseases, warfare and forced labor. By the time Spain surrendered Florida to the British in 1763, few Tequesta remained, and many of those were transported to Cuba.
By the early years of the nineteenth century the Seminole Indians were being pushed into southern Florida by the relentless press of American settlers. Florida became a territory of the United States in 1821, and within a few years friction between the two groups led to the outbreak of hostilities. In southeast Florida the military built a string of forts, including Fort Dallas (Miami), Fort Lauderdale, and Fort Jupiter. The modern thoroughfare, Military Trail, approximates the route the soldiers took as they marched along the coast.
Following the Seminole Wars, and the Civil War during which this area was a haven for both blockade-runners and deserters, few settlers remained in the region. The biggest impediment to settlement was the region’s isolation – there were no roads or railways into south Florida. Mail was delivered by the "Barefoot Mailman," who walked the beach and visited the isolated cabins of the few inhabitants.
The Coming of the Railway
When reporting on the 1890 population count, the Census Bureau stated that for the first time in American history there existed no frontier. While this may have been true in a technical sense, southeastern Florida was still a virtual wilderness. Not until 1892 was an all-purpose roadway constructed from Lantana to what is today Miami.
It was, however, the railway that connected south Florida to the rest of the nation, and the person who brought it here was Henry M. Flagler. A retired executive for John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company, Flagler had "retired" to Florida, but was soon buying and constructing hotels and resort, and building a rail line to bring in paying customers. By 1892 he had reached Palm Beach where he built his exclusive resort. It is said he intended to stop there, but that a disastrous freeze that hit Florida in the winter of 1894-95, ruining most of the citrus crops, convinced him to take his Florida East Coast Railway farther south, beyond the freeze line.
Surveyors preceded the construction crews, and many of south Florida’s coastal towns owe their origins to railway’s plats – Pompano included. The first train arrived in the small Pompano settlement on February 22, 1896.
The Pioneers
There had been scattered settlers in the area from at least the mid-1880s, but the first documented permanent residents of the Pompano area were the George Butler and Frank Sheene and their family who arrived in 1896 as railway employees. It is said that Sheene gave the community its name – Pompano – after jotting down on his survey of the area the name of the fish he had for dinner. As other people settled in the area, George Butler was appointed the community’s first postmaster, and his wife, Mary the first teacher when a one-room schoolhouse opened in 1899.
Many early residents were farmers, coming south to escape the effects of the mid-decade freezes. Among those were Earl Ehmann, who is credited with introducing pineapple to the area, and the McNab brothers, Harry and Bob. Other pioneer families in the area included the Smoaks, the Hardys, the Blounts and the Samples.
Although the local community at first was located around what was then known as Lettuce Lake (now Santa Barbara), the coming of the railroad led to development farther west. A small commercial district began to grow near the Florida East Coast Railway depot. In 1900, M. Z. Cavandish opened a general store at N.E. First Street and Flagler Avenue.
In 1906 Pompano became the southernmost settlement in newly-created Palm Beach County. That year, the Hillsboro Lighthouse was completed on the beach. In 1908, Pompano was incorporated as a town; J. R. Mizell was elected the first mayor.