Pompano Beach Historical Society

When Pompano Beach resident Addie Holloway died on November 2, 1970, she was reported to be 107 years old. She was born in Wellborn, Florida, and moved here in the 1920s with her husband, Alex.

Mercerlene Ruthledge described Mrs. Holloway:

Mother Holloway was a lively little woman. As soon as she entered the door of the church [Mt. Calvary Baptist Church], and a song was being sung, she would come in clapping her hands and prancing in perfect cadence as she ambulated to her seat. Her presence extruded a spiritual force that affected the entire congregation. She made her own clothes — long-sleeved, floor-length dresses, which fitted her perfectly well. She always wore black, low-heeled comfort-type shoes. Her arms and legs were never visible. This modest little woman maintained this mode of dress throughout her life.

Prior to the Second World War, owning a mule was, as one local resident put it, a “God send,” not only to the owner, but also to small farmers who did not own or rent a mule.

The owner would often be hired by farmers with small plots to plow their fields at the beginning of the planting season. The mule’s owner was paid for his labor as well as the mule’s work.

Likewise, an individual who owned a truck could make extra money hauling small farmers’ produce to market.

A number of Pompano’s black pioneers came here from northern Florida where they had worked in the timber industry. Among these were John Rhone, Jesse Harry and Jack Swain. Once here, they all engaged in farming.

The original Pompano farmers did not have access to many farmer laborers beyond family members. This would change, beginning in the first decade of the 20th century, as seasonal labor was brought down from northern Florida and Georgia, and a small permanent population of farm workers was established here.

It has been estimated that without additional labor, a family could manage to farm about 10 to 15 acres on their own (depending on whether or not they had access to a mule).

Beginning in the late 19th century, black residents of southern states faced an increasing number of barriers to voting. Among them were the grandfather clause (one could register to vote if his grandfather could vote), the poll tax, literacy tests, as well as economic and physical threats.

Another effective means of denying blacks any meaningful say in who was elected, was the all-white primaries. This was made possible by the almost complete lack of a viable Republican Party in southern states — the candidate who won the Democratic primary was, inevitably, the winner of the general election.

The reasoning behind the all-white primaries was that the Democratic Party was a private organization, and as such could decide who could and could not be members. The Democratic Party refused to admit blacks, and so they were unable to vote in the all-important primaries.

In 1944, the United States Supreme Court, in Smith v. Allright, ruled that white primaries were unconstitutional.

Most southern states sought to evade the ruling, but Florida’s Attorney General, J. Thomas Watson, issued a legal opinion in 1945 that followed the Supreme Court’s ruling: “A negro who [is] otherwise a qualified elector under state law is entitled to be registered as a Democratic elector on the county election books notwithstanding state Democratic Executive Committee resolved that only ‘white persons’ should be declared and taken as proper members of [Florida’s] Democratic Party … “

On August 24, 1871, the steamship Mississippi was nearly sunk by severe weather (possibly a hurricane) off Hillsboro Inlet. Fortunately for those on board, the ship grounded near shore and all passengers and crew made it to safety on the beach.

An account of the ordeal described the land beyond the beach as “nothing … but sand, briars and stunted trees,” and noted that crabs were plentiful in the inlet which also “swarmed with alligators.”

On their second day ashore, the southbound steamer Cortes was sighted and hailed. The shipwrecked from the Mississippi were brought on board the Cortes and were carried on to New Orleans.

(New York Times, September 6, 1871)

In just little more than a decade, beginning in the mid 1950s, a significant percentage of Pompano-area farmland was lost to residential development. It began with the incorporation of Margate in 1955 on land that had been farmed by the Hammon Development Company. Soon thereafter the vast acreage owned by the Lyons family was sold for the development of Coral Springs. By the early 1970s, nearly all of the local croplands in northern Broward and southern Palm Beach were either being turned into residential neighborhoods and shopping centers, or were being sought for that purpose.

Pompano Beach’s John Knox Village was established in 1967 under the name Baptist Village with nine residences on 64 acres. The facility grew quickly, but ran into financial problems.

In the mid-1970s, Dr. Kenneth P. Berg was hired to manage the community. His company, Christian Services, Inc., managed 19 other not-for-profit retirement facilities throughout the United States.

In 1978, Dr. Berg renamed the complex John Knox Village, a name that was being used at other facilites he managed.

When Palm Beach County was created in 1909 from the northern portion of Dade County, Pompano became the new county’s southernmost municipality.

Advocates for the new county had hoped to break away from Dade in 1907, and even though the petition for Palm Beach passed the State Senate by a wide margin, it failed in the House of Representatives by nearly a two-to-one margin.

At that time, the State Legislature met biannually, so Palm Beach County had to wait two more years.

At the Historical Society’s monthly public meeting on Wednesday, November 19th (7:00 PM at the Dick & Miriam Hood Center, 217 NE 4th Avenue), representatives from the City of Pompano Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency will provide the latest news on the vision for Pompano Beach’s historic downtown, as well as other areas covered by the CRA.

This will be an excellent opportunity to learn first hand what plans are being made for some of Pompano Beach’s most significant historic resources. It will also give you a chance to voice your opinions.

Cap’s Place Island Restaurant is Broward County’s oldest operating restaurant, having been founded in the 1920s by sailor, fisherman and bootlegger Cap Knight. Although surrounded today by multi-million dollar homes, visitors are transported back to “Old Florida” at this site listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Friends of the historic Sample-McDougald House are invited to gather at Cap’s Place on November 19th for a casual early evening get-together that will include food, drink, music and a special history and tour of Cap’s Island by Tom Hasis, co-owner of the establishment. Proceeds from the event will benefit the landscaping of the Sample-McDougald House site.

The event will take place from 5:30 to 8:00 PM. Tickets are $50 per person (advance purchase necessary), with the proceeds benefiting the Sample-McDougald House. For information, call 954 292-8040.

Warnetta Scott (1934 - 2005) graduated as valedictorian from Ely High School in its inaugural class and was the author of the school’s alma mater. She later graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta.

Not all Pompano’s farms were owned by Pompano residents. A 1921 publication, Miami and Dade county, Florida : Its Settlement, Progress and Achievement, mentions Miami resident Samuel A. Belcher as owning “in the vicinity of Pompano one of the finest truck farms” in the county.

Belcher came to the Miami area in 1892 and would serve as a Dade County commissioner for a dozen years. In addition to farming, he established Belcher Asphalt Paving Company, which eventually evolved into the Belcher Oil Company. He also was active in construction and banking.

Although Florida Governor Napoleon B. Broward (1905 - 1909) is credited with initiating the drainage of the Everglades with a canal-building effort that began in 1906, the concept was not new. Broward’s predecessor, Governor William S. Jennings (1901 - 1905), had addressed the issue during his administration:

”..it will appear that the drainage of the Everglades is entirely feasible and practicable, thus reclaiming 3,760,000 acres, a large percentage of which would be available, and the most valuable agricultural land in the Southern States.”

The first map of Florida that was based on actual field surveys was completed by Charles Vignoles and published in 1823. Vignoles, a surveyor and civil engineer living in St. Augustine, traveled throughout Florida on horseback and by boat in order to gather the data necessary to produce the map.

The name “Hillsboro” was not attached to the inlet and river here until the early 1800s. Prior to that time, the waterways were given a variety of names, such as “Rio Seco” during the Spanish colonial era.

Even after the Hillsboro appellation began showing up on maps of Florida, there were alternate names used. One map produced in the early 19th century identified the inlet as “Hillsboro,” but the stream draining into the inlet as the “Potomac River.”

It was not until the Seminole Wars (1830s through 1850s) that military maps more or less standardized the names of many natural features in southern Florida.

Around 1910, Pompano resident Carlton Marshall planted about 2,000 citrus trees. It was the largest citrus grove in the area.

Over the years, there were others in Pompano who grew citrus, but there was limited “high and dry” areas conducive to this type of agriculture and there was a more immediate return of a farmer’s investment if he grew winter vegetables, so oranges, lemons and grapefruit were never major crops here.

When Napoleon B. Broward was campaigning for governor in 1904, he attended and spoke at a nighttime political rally in downtown Jacksonville. There were thousands of people in attendance and a festive, if not raucous, atmosphere.

Broward, attired in a cream-colored linen suit, was the first to speak and was cheered on by the crowd. His principal opponent,Robert W. Davis, was the next speaker, but as Davis began his speech his voice was drowned out by the loud whistle of a boat on the nearby St. Johns River. Unable to be heard, a frustrated Davis stepped down from the stage.

The offending whistle had come from an ocean-going tugboat named The Three Friends. It was owned by Broward.

Following completion of the Florida East Coast Railway though South Florida in 1896, Henry Flagler offered free fertilizer to farmers who planted tomatoes along the line. His motivation was to encourage production and thus more shipments of tomatoes on the railroad.