Romar Beach began as a large homestead with three miles of beachfront stretching from Gulf State Park to Highway 161 in Orange Beach, though the original property now covers only 480 feet. It was a true homestead whose owners were required to till the soil, but of the efforts made over the years, only the oleander trees survived. The owners, Mobile business friends Spurgeon Roche and Carl 'Zeke' Martin, created the name Romar from the first two letters of Roche and the first three of Martin. Their two houses, built around 1924, were the first houses built on the beach. Because the property was difficult to reach, they built their own road south from Canal Road straight to the beach, including a wooden bridge over the freshwater lakes, and for stability they corduroyed the roadway with logs and lumber across the swamp and sandy land; that road is now Power Line Road. The 1924 Spurgeon Roche House survived many storms; it was originally built on pilings, later gained a second story, and was strengthened through many renovations. Jerry Gilbreath of Mississippi purchased the Roche house around 1980 and in 1991 turned it into the Original Romar House Bed and Breakfast, which is still operating as Alabama's first gulfside bed and breakfast. The original Carl Martin house stood until Hurricane Frederic destroyed it in 1979. Mack Shelby was the caretaker of the Romar Homestead adjacent to Gulf State Park, and Lake Shelby within the park is named for the Shelby family. Over the years, most of the original Roche-Martin homestead was sold to developers, and many buildings in the area carry the Romar name, including Romar Beach Baptist Church, Romar Tower, Romar Place, Romar Beach Condos, Romar Lake Development, and Romar Beach Public Access.