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1953 Map of Windermere

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Windermere
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1965
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1965

About this map

Windermere sits at the heart of this lake-strewn Florida landscape, positioned on the narrow isthmus between Lake Butler and Lake Down. Surveyed in the early 1950s, the map reveals a region defined by its vast citrus groves and interconnected water bodies before the era of major theme park development. The Atlantic Coast Line railroad runs through the eastern portion of the quadrangle, serving the local agriculture and the small settlement at Doctor Phillips.

To the south, the landscape becomes increasingly dominated by wetlands and smaller lakes, including Bay Lake with its central Riles Island and the meandering path of Bonnet Creek. Further east, the large expanse of Lake Tibet and Lake Sheen form a significant part of the Butler Chain of Lakes. This survey captures a moment of transition when locations like Vineland and Summerport Beach were isolated points in a quiet, rural interior dominated by water and sand ridge geography.