1943 Map of Laguna Beach

About this map

The coastline of Northwest Florida is documented here during the early 1940s by the War Department and Army Corps of Engineers. This wartime coastal survey focuses on the narrow development strip between the Gulf of Mexico and the inland terrain of the Seminole Hills. The map captures the early footprint of Laguna Beach and Gulf Resort Beach, which at this time consisted of sparse coastal structures along a primary shoreline road. The landscape is dominated by the transition from white sand beaches to the wetlands and low hills just inland, providing a precise record of the shoreline before the mid-century surge in coastal construction and tourism infrastructure transformed the Florida Panhandle.