Initial development was done by James Stockton Jr., son of a principal of Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co. one of the biggest names in mortgage banking, real estate and insurance in the southeast U.S. While on safari in Africa in 1970, he envisioned another golf course resort development like Ponte Vedra in the wild landscape along the coast. After he returned to Florida, he purchased 1,600 feet of ocean frontage near property SWD had available since the 1960s. He engaged a golf course architect and an engineering firm to draw plans for a new development that eventually encompassed 1,200 acres.
