From the early 1800's, a company called Stefan Bros, were conducting trade between the West Coast and Cape Town. Very often farmers became indebted to them and they would take 99 year leases on some farm next to the coast as payment. This meant that they could refuse landing rights to any other traders that wanted to trade on these shores.

Around 1990, an employee at the deeds offices did a search and saw that the 99 year lease for the land at Jakobsbaai had expired, and that the land had once again become available. A property developer, Kuron Holdings, was brought in and the town was started.

During the Second World War watch towers were build all along the coast to keep guard for possible invasion by German U-boats. Despite this, a well known spy, Robbie Leibrandt, was dropped off by a U-boat near Yzerfontein.