Pompano Beach Historical Society

Henry Flagler’s fame was not based on his having the idea to construct a railroad down Florida’s eastern coast, but rather that he did it.

The concept was not new — in fact, more than two decades before the railroad arrived in southern Florida, F. Trench Townshend, a British captain who took a hunting trip to Florida in 1874, wrote:

A great deal is said by Florida land agents about Biscayne being made the terminus of a railway to be constructed from Jacksonville via the town of Enterprise and St. John’s River to Miami, and thence along from key to key on [trestle] work as far as Key West, so as to convey the trade of the West Indies and South America through Florida to the North. Beyond the fact that the track is marked in the maps of Florida, published at Jacksonville, there is no reason to suppose that such a line is ever likely to be built as long as Florida remains in her present bankrupt and impoverished condition.

Wild Life in Florida, by F. Trench Townshend, London (1875), as quoted in “The Lower East Coast, 1870-1890” by W. T. Cash, Tequesta, No. VIII (1948).

In the nineteenth century, Dade County encompassed an area along Florida’s eastern shore from the southern tip of the peninsula north to the St. Lucie inlet.

In 1870, the U.S. Census counted just 85 persons residing in this vast area.

By 1880 the population had climbed to 257. Ten years later, Dade’s population was still in triple digits (861).

During the 1890s, the railroad was extended into Dade County, opening it up to the rest of the nation. This is reflected in the 1900 census count — six years after the railroad reached Palm Beach and four years after it arrived in Miami, Dade County had 4,955 residents (including a few in the tiny Pompano settlement).

When the Sunshine State Parkway (now named Florida’s Turnpike) opened in 1957, there were ceremonies at various locations along the 110 mile roadway.

The official song for the grand opening was Take a Little Trip Down South, composed by local resident Sarah Sellers McDougald (1905-1979). She was the wife of William D. McDougald and lived in what is today known as the Sample-McDougald House.

The famous “barefoot mailmen” walked the beach from Palm Beach to Miami from 1885 to 1892. In addition to delivering the mail to the scattered settlers along their beach route, the mailmen would, from time to time, serve as guides for travellers willing to accompany them on their walk.

There are a number of accounts of why Henry Flagler decided to extend the Florida East Coast Railway south from West Palm Beach. In the late 1930s, the Flagler System published a pamphlet on the organization’s history in which how the extension came about was explained:

About 1893, Mr. James E. Ingraham, formerly associated with Henry B. Plant on the West Coast of Florida, became associated with Flagler. He later became Vice-President of the Company in charge of its agricultural and land departments. In an address made by Mr. Ingraham before the Woman’s Club of Miami on the occasion of the unveiling of a memorial tablet, the events leading up to the founding of Miami are aptly described.

“Sometime before Mr. Flagler finished his railroad to Palm Beach”, relates Mr. Ingraham, “I met at a dinner party in Cleveland, Ohio, Mrs. Julia Tuttle, who told me she was about to remove her family and effects to Miami. During the evening she said ‘Some day somebody will build a railway to Miami. I hope you will be interested in it, and when they do, I will be willing to divide my property there and give one-half to them for a town site.’

“In the winter of 1894-95 occurred the first of the great freezes, ruining the orange groves in the orange belt, touching the pineapples on the Indian River, and nipping the coconut palm leaves as far south as Palm Beach. As the orange industry was the principal one in Florida at that time it seemed like a fatal blow.”

“Immediately after the freeze I came to Miami and found at Fort Lauderdale and territory south, orange trees, lemon trees and lime trees blooming, or about to bloom, without a leaf hurt, and vegetables growing in a small way untouched. There had been no frost there. I gathered a lot of blooms from the various trees, put them in damp cotton and after an interview with Mrs. Tuttle and Mr. and Mrs. Brickell at Miami, I hurried to St. Augustine. Here I called on Mr. Flagler and showed him the blossoms, telling him that I believed that these were from the only part of Florida, except possibly a small area on the West coast, which had escaped the freeze.”

“I said, ‘I have here written proposals from Mrs. Tuttle and Mr. and Mrs. Brickell, inviting you to extend your railroad from Palm Beach to Miami and offering to share with you their holdings for a town site.’

“Mr. Flagler looked at me for some minutes in silence. Then he said, ‘How soon can you arrange for me to go to Miami?’ ” …

Excerpted from A Brief History of the Florida East Coast Railway and Associated Enterprises, published by the Flagler System in the late 1930s.

Brian McHugh accepts a plaque commemorating his tenure as the president of the Pompano Beach Historical Society from the incoming president, Claudia DuBois.

Claudia is the daughter of former Historical Society president, Margaret White.

Other Historical Society officers for 2008-09 are: Irene Reidich, First Vice President; Larry Sands, Second Vice President; Carmen Jones, Secretary and Judy Knoebel, Treasurer.

At the corner of NE 5th Avenue and 10th Street, where the Sample-McDougald House is located, was once the site of Pompano’s first airfield.

It was not an official airport; rather it was more a flat, vacant field. However, it was suitable for landing a small plane, and it was there that visiting barnstorming pilots set down.

Bud Garner remembers the excitement:

Upon arriving in the skies over Pompano, the pilot of the plane that would give rides would circle over the Town a dozen times or more, maybe do a loop or two, a couple of barrel rolls and then land in the field of red-tops, sandspurs, and rabbit tobacco …

By the time the plane landed, there was usually a large number of people at the “Airport” and the pilot would put up a small sign giving the price of a ride in his plane and he would stay around for several days until interest waned and then he would fly on to other pastures.

Another primitive airfield was located in southwest Pompano Beach, where John Knox Village is today. It was used primarily by crop dusters.

Pompano’s first bank, the Bank of Pompano, was a victim of hard times during the Great Depression, closing its doors in 1929.

The bank reopened in 1934 as the Farmers Bank of Pompano, due in large part to the efforts of William L. Kester.

During the hard times of the late 1920s and 1930s, Kester devoted much of his resources toward promoting economic development in Pompano.

Pompano Bowl, located at 2200 North Federal Highway, has been in business for fifty years. When it opened in 1958, it was the first modern bowling facility in Pompano Beach.

Prior to that, if a Pompano resident wanted to bowl, he or she headed to NE First Street, not far from the railroad tracks, where there was located an outdoor bowling alley with four cement lanes.

Electric light bulbs were strung around the lanes, allowing for night bowling.

The outdoor bowling alley did not have automatic pin setters — this task was usually performed by youthful employees. They had to work quickly and keep an eye out for flying pins from other lanes, especially at night.

Long-time Pompano Beach resident Don Downie remembered his school days in the late 1940s and early 1950s:

A bunch of us kids, those allowed off school grounds at lunch, would go to three places for lunch. Hardy’s Put and Take [located at 201 NE 1st Street], the refreshment stand at the water tower park [now Founders Park] and McClellan’s Drugstore [130 North Flagler Avenue]. The only person I can remember behind the soda counter was Margie [Marjorie Shuford Ramey]. She made the best fountain cokes and egg salad sandwiches in the world. If I remember correctly, that lunch was only 25 cents. A perk for having lunch there was being able to read the comic books.

This Saturday, June 21st:

Plants and People in Pompano - Learn about the plants that will enhance your South Florida landscape (they may be the same ones that the pioneers used), how to get your yard certified as a wildlife habitat and how you can help make Pompano Beach more environmentally friendly. Enjoy live bluegrass music and visit the green market vendors. 8:00 am to 1:00 pm at Founders Park (217 NE 4th Avenue, Pompano Beach).

Blues and Sweet Potato Pie Festival - Music and food is the focus of this event. Top-notch blues bands play throughout the day, but the key event is the judging of entries in the sweet potato pie contest. Plenty of activities for guests of all ages. 10:00 am to 5:00pm at Apollo Park (240 NW 16th Street, Pompano Beach).

Both events are part of the Pompano Beach Centennial Calendar.

Given Pompano Beach’s attraction as an attractive location for retirees to resettle to, either full time or as “snowbirds,” it’s not surprising that a number of individuals who were well-known and accomplished in their northern home towns, died here.

One such person was John Irving Whalley. He was born in Barnesville, Pennsylvania, in 1902. He began working at a automotive garage at age 14 and a dozen years later acquired his own dealership. Before he turned 40 her owned eleven dealerships.

From 1951 to 1960 he served in the Pennsylvania Legislature, first as a Representative and then as a Senator. In 1960 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and was subsequently reelected four times. During his tenure in Congress he advocated for better highways and other issues of interest to the automobile industry.

He died in Pompano Beach in 1980. The following year he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.

In Pompano Beach prior to the mid-1950s, the area south of Atlantic Boulevard was very lightly populated. There were scattered residences and some farmland, but for most locals that area was not considered a desirable place to live.

It was commonly referred to as “Dogpatch” by many who lived north of Atlantic Boulevard.

During World War II, with so many men and women entering the military service, businesses and government agencies often had a difficult time in securing employees. As this article from the August 28, 1942, Pompano Sun indicates, such was not the case for the Broward County schools:

Broward County will have enough teachers this term according to County Superintendent U. J. Bennett.

During the year of 1941-42 there were 175 white teachers and 63 colored teachers in Broward County. Some of the counties are having difficulties in finding enough teachers for certain subjects.

By comparison, during the 2007-08 school year, the School Board of Broward County employed about 17,000 teachers.

Last year the local sports website, South Florida Sports Paradise listed the 100 greatest high school football players from Broward County. Included in the list are 13 athletes who played for either Blanche Ely or Pompano Beach high schools:

Andrew Bain - Ely 2003
Rod Baker - Ely 1982
Henri Crockett - Ely 1992
Dou Innocent- Ely 1991
James Jones - Ely 1979
Barry Krauss - Pompano Beach 1975
Tyrant Marion - Ely 1991
Jerome McDougle - Ely 1998
Kevin McDougle - Ely 1990
Tyrone Moss - Ely 2003
Mike Rendina - Pompano Beach 1981
Corey Simon - Ely 1995
Harvey Thomas - Ely 1988

The complete list can be found here.

Billy Bowlegs was one of the most well-known of the Seminole warriors who led their people during the Second Seminole War (1835 - 1842) in Florida. By the end of the Third Seminole War (1855 - 1858), Bowlegs agreed to lead his followers out of Florida to the Indian Territory in the west.

During the Civil War, he was commissioned a U. S. Army captain in the Indian Home Guards, and was commended for his bravery and leadership in a series of battles against Confederate forces in the Kansas and Indian territories.

Billy Bowlegs died of smallpox in 1864. He was probably in his mid-fifties at that time.

Today marks the anniversary of the allied invasion of Europe in World War II. Over 150,000 soldiers from British, Canadian and American military units landed in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. In fierce fighting, allied troops secured the beachhead, sustaining an estimated 10,000 casualties that day.

Blanche Ely High School’s first football coach, William H. Johnson.

Born in Pompano in 1928, Bill Johnson graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta (where he was a classmate of Martin Luther King, Jr.) and returned to Pompano Beach to teach for Mrs. Ely. He was an active member of the community, and was the first black candidate for the Pompano Beach city commission. Although he was unsuccessful in his bid for office, he served as a mentor to both Karl Weaver and E. Pat Larkins, Jr., who later became city commissioners. Mr. Johnson died in 1982.

Photograph courtesy of his daughter, Novice Johnson.

Blanche Ely High School’s mascot and school colors were selected by its first football coaching staff.

At the time the school became a full-fledged high school in 1951, teacher William H. Johnson met with Mrs. Ely to lobby for a school football team. She was not much for extra-curricular activities; her focus was on academics and elevating morals. But, she reluctantly agreed.

When Mr. Johnson asked about what the team name and uniform colors should be, he was told by Mrs. Ely, in so many words, that she had more important things to do than worry about those issues.

So the newly-formed coaching staff of William Johnson and Purcel Houston decided they would make the selection based on their colleges: Johnson was a Morehouse graduate, so he picked the Tigers as the team’s nickname, while Houston chose the colors green and orange from those of his alma mater, Florida A&M.

It is estimated that in 1942 there were 130,000 acres of agricultural land in Broward County. Forty years later, local farm lands had dropped to 30,000 acres.

Currently, there is less than 5,000 acres of agricultural land in the county.