The town was named after John Newton Clarke, who first filed a homestead claim in the area in 1897. Clarke intended to capitalize on the business of growing pineapples, but his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. Very few people lived in the area until local attorney Walter Travers created a plan to develop a community around Lake Clarke and purchased of land for $10,000 in the late 1940s. The completion of a bridge across the West Palm Beach Canal in 1953 spurred a further growth in population. Residents officially voted to incorporate Lake Clarke Shores as a town on April 10, 1956.