1944 Map of Bird Keys

About this map

Sarasota Key and Casey Key dominate this wartime coastal survey, showing the barrier island geography before mid-century development transformed the Florida shoreline. Separated from the mainland by the waters of Little Sarasota Bay, these keys are characterized by natural features like the prominent Point O'Rocks and White Beach. Near the southern end of Sarasota Key, the small islands of the Bird Keys sit adjacent to Musketeers Pass, a navigable opening to the Gulf of Mexico. On the mainland, the settlement of Vamo is one of the few established communities captured during this period, providing a rare look at the area's early 1940s footprint. The map, based on 1942 aerial photography, preserves the original shoreline and drainage patterns of the Sarasota coast before modern dredging and urbanization altered the landscape.