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1949 Map of Courtenay

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Courtenay
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1971
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1971

About this map

Merritt Island is the central focus of this 1949 topographic study, capturing the landscape just as the modern space age began to transform the Florida coast. While the northern reaches show the early footprint of the John F Kennedy Space Center (Nasa), the map preserves the traditional settlement patterns of Courtenay, Indianola, and Audubon. These communities are defined by their proximity to the Indian River and Banana River, with local life centered around landmarks like St Lukes Ch and the Bethel Cem.

Transportation corridors like the Florida East Coast railroad and the Bennett Causeway illustrate the mid-century infrastructure connecting the island to Cocoa and City Point. The extensive network of waterways, including Sykes Creek and the Barge Canal, reveals the complex aquatic geography of the region before the massive suburban expansion of later decades, which is only hinted at by the 1970 photo-revision purple tinting.