About Pompano Beach
A Look Back in History
The history of the City of Pompano Beach is quite fascinating, as it played an important role in the development of South Florida. Located exactly mid-way between Palm Beach and Miami, the city was at one point the southernmost railroad station of the famous Florida East Coast Railway built by Henry Flagler. In fact, one of the railroad's employees, Frank Sheene, gave the city its name when writing down the name of the fish he had for dinner one evening during his survey of the shoreline. The fish "Pompano" runs abundantly in the warm waters of the Atlantic off our sandy beaches.
Long before Flagler and his railroad came to town, southern Florida was home to the Tequesta Indians. They survived on the subtropical land by living in villages near the ocean, feasting on the abundant sea life. The arrival of the Europeans in the mid-Eighteenth century led to the destruction of the Tequesta way of life, and the noble Indians soon succumbed to disease and warfare.
The Seminole Indian Tribe soon settled in the area after being pushed further and further south by the ever-growing population of American settlers. Florida became an American territory in 1821, and the U.S. military built forts to protect its settlers, including Fort Jupiter and Fort Lauderdale. These were the years of the Seminole Wars and the Civil War. Surviving in this isolated region in the subtropics was difficult.
It was not until the railway was built that South Florida was finally linked to the rest of the nation. The first train arrived in the small settlement of Pompano on February 22, 1896, a little over one hundred years ago. The town consisted mainly of farmers and a handful of railway employees and professionals. First families of Pompano included the Butlers, the Mizells, the McNabs, the Samples, the Blounts, the Hardys and the Smoaks, many of whom are still prominent in the area today.
On June 6, 1908, thirty-one voters, who gathered at the Florida East Coast Railway freight depot to create their new municipality, incorporated the city of Pompano. Once under the jurisdiction of Palm Beach County, the city was officially part of Dade County at the time of incorporation. The city grew quickly with the western parts comprised mainly of farmland while the eastern portion consisted of a peaceful beach town. In 1947, the city of Pompano merged with the beach area to become the City of Pompano Beach.
Present Day Pompano Beach
Centrally located in Florida's famous Gold Coast, today, Pompano Beach covers over 25 square miles in northern Broward County. The City has over 101,400 residents which raises to over 150,000 during the season, when our part-time residents return to enjoy our number one resource-the sun. Pompano Beach is located on the southeast coast of Florida, midway between... More>>
