As far as we know, the first person to try and develop residential property east of what is today the Intracoastal Waterway was Exum Jelks.

Born in Georgia near the end of the Civil War, Jelks became a successful businessman in Macon, Georgia, where he owned a brick plant, a pharmaceutical company and was a bank director. He and his family began spending their winters in the Pompano area around 1904.

Within several years Exum had purchased 100 acres that stretched from the ocean to the canal, subdivided the property, and put the lots on sale for $400 each.

It is not clear how many lots were sold, but very few houses were built in the Jelks development.