1949 Map of False Cape

About this map

Canaveral Peninsula and the wild coastal reaches of Merritt Island are documented here just before the mid-century transformation of the Space Coast. The landscape is dominated by a complex network of wetlands and tidal cuts, including Jack Davis Cut and Tea Cr Cutoff, which separate numerous hammocks and islands like Harrison Island. At the southern edge of the survey, the De Soto Beach State Game Refuge indicates an era of conservation prior to the region's intensive federal development. Human activity is sparse, marked by the Canaveral Club near the northern boundary and the small settlement at De Soto Beach. The map provides a detailed record of the shifting shoreline from Titusville Beach down to False Cape, as well as the treacherous underwater topography of the Atlantic Ocean including the expansive Chester Shoal.