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1956 Map of Murdock NE

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Murdock NE
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1957
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1957

About this map

Bud Slough and Wildcat Slough define the wet, low-lying character of this interior Florida landscape during the mid-1950s. The map illustrates a transitional period for the region where three counties—Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto—meet amidst a network of drainage features and intermittent waterways. A notable landmark for local historians is the Pine Level Ch, situated in the upper right corner near the winding Buzzard Roost Branch.

Evidence of early 20th-century transportation is preserved here in the form of an Old Railroad Grade that cuts diagonally through the terrain. Numerous instances of a Flowing Well are mapped across the sections, suggesting the importance of artesian water sources for cattle or agriculture in this prairie-like environment. State Route 72 provides the primary east-west corridor through this sparsely settled territory.