1958 Map of Pine Island Center

About this map

Matlacha Pass divides the coastal landscape, separating the developing suburban grid of Cape Coral from the older fishing and homesteading grounds of Pine Island. This mid-century survey, with late-1980s updates, documents a period of rapid change as the sprawling canal systems of the mainland began to press against the mangrove-lined waters of the Matlacha Pass National Wildlife Refuge. On the western shore, Pine Island Center and St James City anchor a community defined by its proximity to the water, where Masters Landing and various flowing wells indicate the traditional reliance on the island’s natural resources.