December 2010
23 posts
First Place for Pompano
In the final months of 1936, several South Florida Rotary Clubs held a contest to see which of them could achieve the highest attendance percentage before the end of the year.
The Pompano club won against the Rotarians from Miami, Key West, Homestead, Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale.
A New Surface
In 1922, the Broward County Commission approved a $100,000 bond issue for the resurfacing of Dixie Highway within the county limits. At the same time, Palm Beach and Dade counties took steps to upgrade their portions of the roadway.
One hope of local officials was to have the Dixie Highway run from Miami to West Palm Beach entirely on the east side of the railroad tracks, thus eliminating the...
Six New Counties
On this day, December 29th, in 1824, six new counties were created in Florida: Alachua, Leon, Monroe, Nassau, Walton and Mosquito. This more than doubled the number of counties in the state.
When created, Mosquito encompassed a large area from central Florida to the lower east coast. That county has since disappeared, but is generally considered the predecessor of today’s Orange County.
175 Years Ago Today - Seminole Ambush
On December 28, 1835, Major Francis Langhorne Dade, in command of two companies of soldiers marching from Fort Brooke (Tampa) to Fort King (Ocala) , was ambushed by Seminole warriors near today’s Bushnell in Sumter County. Dade was killed by the first shot fired, and one hundred and eight soldiers were killed. There were only three known survivors of what came to be known as the...
History in 3D
You can go to a local theater to see a movie in 3D, and you can purchase a 3D television. Now you can view Florida’s history in 3D.
Go to Florida in 3D: Florida Stereoviews (you’ll need a pair of red and blue 3D glasses) to view hundreds of images of late 19th and early 20th century Florida.
Branching Out
One of the first banks in Florida given permission to establish a branch bank, following the state legislature’s passing a branch banking law in 1975, was Pompano Beach’s Florida Coast Bank. It was allowed to open a branch in Fort Lauderdale.
Florida Coast Bank was originally named the Farmers Bank of Pompano; it had been established by William Kester during the Great Depression. ...
The Station Master
Pompano’s first railroad depot was constructed by the Florida East Coast Railway soon after tracks were constructed through the area in 1896. It was not a full-service station; it was more an enclosed loading platform. That structure was expanded sometime around 1910. A passenger depot was added and John W. Walton was employed as the first station master.
Walton later opened a general...
The Holy Tavern
On April 29, 1984, Pompano Beach’s St. Henry’s Catholic Church opened what was believed to be the country’s only bar in a Catholic church. Church members could join the “club,” which was open only on Saturdays from 5:00 to 11:00 pm, for $5.00 a year.
The Mayor Sneaks In
In December, 1949, the mayor of New York City, William O’Dwyer, suffered a heart attack and was ordered to take a rest, preferably out of the city.
O’Dwyer headed south to Florida aboard the train, and the word going about was he would stay in Fort Lauderdale. But while a welcoming committee and newspaper reporters were waiting at the train station in Fort Lauderdale, O’Dwyer...
Who's Watching the Store?
The first reported burglary in the newly-developed Pompano Beach Highlands neighborhood occurred during the evening of January 10, 1957, when the Highlands Sundry Store was entered though the rear door and $100 taken from the cash register. The store owner, Guy Green, also reported the thief drank a pint of buttermilk.
The Pompano Beach Highlands Civic Association had been complaining to county...
Snoozing on Kester's Time
The story is told of “Old Man” Tucker (first name unknown), who worked for William Kester doing odd jobs and maintenance work. In spite of the employer/employee relationship, and the fact the Kester was one of the richest men in Pompano while Tucker clearly was not, Mr. Tucker was not intimidated by his boss, and in spite of his best efforts Kester had a difficult time winning an...
Ship 'em Out
During the second week of January, 1951, 224 railroad cars of produce moved out of the Pompano Beach State Farmers Market, including over 100,000 crates of green beans, 11,600 hampers of peppers and 10,757 bushels of squash. The total value of the produce shipped that week was over $650,000. This equates to about 5.5 million in 2010 dollars.
The Haven of Rest
Following advocacy by the Broward County Federation of Woman’s Clubs, in June, 1927, the Broward County Commission approved the purchase of a facility that would serve as a home for the “aged and indigent.”
The home, located in Dania and christened “The Haven of Rest,” was administered by the Broward County Welfare Board, with participation by members of the various...
In Lieu of the Chamber
Although Pompano businessmen formed a Chamber of Commerce in the 1920s, it was dissolved as a result of economic hard times during the Great Depression.
In the 1930s, many of the functions of a chamber of commerce were carried on by the Pompano Rotary Club. Members were designated to meet and cooperate with South Florida chambers in projects to bring business and government funds to the area.
An Encounter on the Beach
Mr. P. M. Pearce, a prominent citizen of Pompano probably has the distinction of being the slayer of the largest rattle snake in Dade County, a reptile 8 feet and 6 inches being the victim of Mr. Pearce’s good aim with a gun.
While working along a narrow trail on the ocean beach at Pompano, on day last week with friends among whom was a boy, the snake lay be the trail and as the boy who...
The Road that was Never Built
In the months before the new Pompano State Farmers market opened (1939), farming interests lobbied the state to begin planning for a new road that would connect the farming area of Pompano with that of the south Lake Okeechobee region.
As proposed, the road would follow the north bank of the Pompano Canal due west to where it would meet up with what is today U.S. 27 (in 1939 it was a recently...
More on the Telegraph
On Monday, we mentioned that Pompano’s first telegraph operator was probably a man named Frank Walker.
Since then, we came across an article in the July 19, 1907 issue of the Miami Metropolis that stated, in part,
It is understood that Pompano will have a new depot this fall when the Railway Company will give the people an agent and telegraph operator. This being a meeting point for many...
A Character
Our good friend Paul Whitsett was fond of saying that Pompano was a town full of characters, and Cap Campbell certainly ranked among the most notable.
Campbell (1888 - 1959) made quite a bit of money from farming and real estate in the 1920s, but was not one to let wealth go to his head. On one occasion Campbell decided to purchase a new automobile and traveled to another city (Fort Lauderdale?...
Telegraph Operator
An unidentified manuscript in the Historical Society’s archives states that the first telegraph operator in Pompano was a man by the name of Frank (?) Walker. No other account of the town’s early history mentions a person by this name, but it could be that Mr. Walker was here only a short time.
Pioneer Ingenuity
The story goes that one of Pompano’s early families had a small motor boat that was used to travel the waterway south to Fort Lauderdale for groceries and other supplies. Times being tough, and motor oil expensive, it was conceived that perhaps turtle fat could be rendered down as a suitable substitute.
The turtle oil was made, and the motor started, but before the boat was half-way to...
Treating the "Old Gentleman"
In 1907 the little settlement of Pompano was hit by an outbreak of dengue fever (or possibly yellow fever). Dr. Thomas S. Kennedy was called up from Fort Lauderdale to attend to the sick (who did not know what their aliment was). Altogether Dr. Kennedy treated 97 people in Pompano, all of whom survived. His final patient was John Mizell, who the following year would become Pompano’s first...
Work or Fight
During the Second World War, Broward County Sheriff Walter Clark carried out a “work of fight” policy, arresting individuals who were not employed or serving in the military.
Most of those arrested were black and were sentenced to work for the county.