1958 Map of Belle Meade NW

About this map

The vast, wet landscape of Collier County in the late 1950s is defined by its seasonal wetlands and isolated outposts. Remote sites like Kingsville Camp and Panther Camp provide rare points of human activity amidst the extensive marsh and cypress strands of the interior. A central corridor marked as Under Construction bisects the terrain, signaling the early efforts to provide roadway access through this portion of the Everglades. The map captures a moment of transition where large-scale land management and drainage efforts were beginning to alter the natural drainage patterns of southern Florida, yet the region remained largely undeveloped and defined by its natural hydrology.