1949 Map of Pardon Island

About this map

The John F Kennedy Space Center (NASA) dominates this coastal stretch of Florida, where the barrier island landscape is defined by the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the sheltered waters of the Mosquito Lagoon to the west. This 1949 survey, with revisions from 1970, captures the interface of federal space-age infrastructure and the original marshy terrain of the Volusia and Brevard county line. Landmarks like Pardon Island and Three Cabbage Island are surrounded by a network of tidal features including Pardon Slough and Widgeon Bay. The presence of a Tower and the isolated designations of Pardon and Scorpion reflect a landscape in transition, where old coastal place names remain even as the area became a focal point for the nation's space program.