1951 Map of False Cape

About this map

Canaveral Peninsula and the expansive salt marshes of Merritt Island define this coastal landscape at the dawn of the 1950s. The map captures an era of low-density maritime settlement and preservation, featuring the Canaveral Club and a large State Game Refuge that stretches toward the dunes of De Soto Beach. This stretch of the Florida coast, positioned between the Banana River and the Atlantic Ocean, reveals a complex network of estuarine waterways such as Bluebill Creek, Jack Davis Creek, and Pepper Creek. Inland travel is limited to primitive routes like Harrison Road, which provides access to the isolated Harrison Island. Off the coast of False Cape, the shifting sands of Chester Shoal illustrate the navigational hazards that shaped this region's early history.