1944 Map of West Bay

About this map

West Bay serves as the focal point for this wartime survey by the Army Corps of Engineers, showing the northern reaches of the bay and its complex network of feeding tributaries. The landscape is dominated by dense hydrologic features, where Crooked Creek and Pigeon Creek wind through low-lying coastal terrain before emptying into the larger body of West Bay. The recently established route of the Intracoastal Waterway cuts a distinct path through the southern portion of the map, signaling the era's focus on maritime transport and defense logistics. Numerous family-named or descriptive points define the shoreline, including Walsonham Point and Breakfast Point. Away from the water, the map tracks several small branches such as Big Lily Branch and Kelly Branch, which drain the undeveloped interior during this period of Florida's history.