Alcohol and an argument over a house cat resulted in the 1915 murder of W. Mack Smith, described as a pioneer of the area. Smith accused his neighbor, Jimmie Read, of killing his pet cat and tempers flared. Read, who had been drinking heavily, left, returned with a shotgun and shot Smith in the head.

After several days, concerned friends reported Smith's disappearance to the Pompano Constable [Jonathan?] Hamilton who subsequently found Smith's body buried in a shallow grave southwest of town.

Read was arrested and confessed to the murder. He was taken to jail in Fort Lauderdale, but was moved to West Palm Beach when some local residents began talking about taking the law into their own hands.