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1949 Map of Rock Harbor

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Rock Harbor
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1949
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1949

About this map

Key Largo's upper stretch appears here during the late 1940s, revealing a string of small settlements and navigational landmarks before the massive post-war development of the Florida Keys. Small communities like Newport and Rock Harbor are clustered along the main road, while St Margarets Ch and Getman Memorial Ch provide evidence of early social centers for residents. The western waters of Florida Bay and Buttonwood Sound are protected by the Everglades National Park boundary, emphasizing the region's conservation history.

Inland water traffic is defined by the Intracoastal Waterway, which cuts through Blackwater Sound via the Baker Cut. Offshore, landmarks such as Rodriguez Key and Dove Key sit in the Atlantic Ocean, while to the south, the settlements of Thompson and Sawyer mark the quiet residential footprint of the era. The mapping, compiled from 1946 aerial photography, preserves the original shoreline and mangroves prior to modern dredging and marina construction.