KESTER COTTAGE MUSEUMS
The Museum Cottages are open for tours by appointment and on special occasions.
Please call Pat at 954-782-3015 at least 48 hours before scheduling a tour.
William L. Kester built most of the Kester Cottages along the beach road in the 1930’s. Kester originally came to Pompano in 1923 to fish but stayed and invested greatly in the community. The wood-frame cottages, which Kester later described as “pepper crates,” provided employment to the many residents hired to build them as a means to attract tourists to the area. The sturdy, economical “Kester Cottages” soon were being built throughout Pompano to house both the local residents as well as winter visitors. The houses, as many as 150, were mostly 25-by-35-foot single-story dwellings and one-, two-, and three-bedroom models. They were all painted white, and each featured shutters with cutouts from the four suits in a deck of playing cards. Houses cost $950 and were rented out for $29 a month.
Kester's nephew, Stewart, donated the two cottages in Founders Park to the Pompano Beach Historical Society in 1974. They were moved from their original location one block north of Atlantic Boulevard to Founders Park, where they now serve as museums to preserve the rich history of Pompano Beach. The west cottage is set up as a resident's home might have looked in Kester’s time. The east cottage displays the artifacts of the working life of Pompano, including farm equipment, military, home front, as well as school memorabilia and preserved items from a lumber yard, a print shop and a pharmacy.
To tour the cottages in person, please call the Historical Society at 954-782-3015 at least 2 days in advance to reserve a time.
Interested in being a part of Pompano's History? Email us to learn how to become a Tour Docent!