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1953 Map of Okeechobee 4 NE

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Okeechobee 4 NE
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1965
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1965

About this map

Allapattah Flats dominates this mid-century landscape on the boundary of St Lucie and Martin Counties. This area represents a critical moment in South Florida's environmental transformation, where the natural drainage of Myrtle Slough and Parker Branch met an emerging network of human engineering. The presence of a Canal, Levee, and multiple instances of a Spoil Bank illustrate the systematic efforts to manage the water of the Florida wetlands for agriculture and settlement.

Remote outposts like Bluefield sit along the Florida East Coast rail line, which cuts diagonally across the marshy terrain. Grounded features like Boar Hammock and Myer Hammock indicate slightly elevated ground used for refuge or early homesteading in an otherwise saturated environment. Researchers will also find several instances of a Flowing Well and a Windmill, marking the vital infrastructure required for life in this part of the Florida interior during the 1950s.