1949 Map of West Dixie Bend

About this map

The Hillsboro Canal cuts a sharp diagonal across this 1949 landscape, marking the engineered boundary between agricultural development and the sawgrass wetlands at the Palm Beach Co Broward Co line. Near the eastern edge, the burgeoning community of Deerfield Beach sits along the Seaboard Air Line railroad, reflecting the post-war growth of coastal Florida. Further inland, the settlement of West Dixie Bend appears amidst a grid of experimental drainage and levee work. This map documents a critical era of land reclamation, where a network of thoroughfares like Range Line Road, Blount Road, and Lyons Road began to define the interior. The numerous Borrow Pits and Levee systems shown are tangible evidence of the massive earthmoving efforts required to transform the Everglades into habitable and productive terrain.