Maps. They get us where we’re going, and they reference were we’ve been.
This 1910 Florida Standard Guide map, shared from my mother’s archives, is a black and white goldmine for comparison to our “maps” today.
If you are from my neck of the woods, you may notice that there is no Martin County just sprawling Palm Beach County. Across the state, we see a monstrous Lee County. Collier and Hendry counties were created out of Lee County in 1923. As far as roads, one may notice there is no Tamiami Trail. In 1915 construction began on this famous highway that has blocked remaining water flowing south from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades ever since. And what about Alligator Alley constructed around 1968?
What do you see? What dont’ you see? What’s different from today? I think it is interesting to wonder how South Florida would function today if we didn’t work so hard to fill in the southern part of the map.
Mother Nature just may take it back anyway. Check out this sea level rise map: https://freegeographytools.com/2007/sea-level-rise-google-mapplet
Yes, today we use Google Maps, or GPS instruction from our smart phones to figure out where we’re going and what develops.
Where these electronic maps are taking us is only for the future to know. Hopefully our choices, and the maps we follow are more helpful to the environment and to wildlife too! Florida Wildlife Corridor explore maps: http://floridawildlifecorridor.org
Sandra Henderson Thurlow, local historian, website: http://www.sandrathurlow.com
Google Maps, Florida: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=18J9_j-2FuhO9ABdZDdDg1MKDeQk&msa=0&ie=UTF8&t=h&vpsrc=6&ll=28.750319037763777%2C-83.85705481014259&spn=5.403019%2C10.810547&z=8&output=embed
Tamiami Trail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamiami_Trail
Interstate 75/Alligator Alley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_75_in_Florida
Alligator Alley: https://protectnepa.org/alligator-alley-75-extension-everglades-parkway/
Backroads Travel, vintage Florid maps: https://www.florida-backroads-travel.com/florida-vintage-road-maps.html
Blog on Florida Counties’ Evolution: 1884 Rand, McNally & Co. Map, the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee,”My How Things Change…”SLR/IRL: https://jacquithurlowlippisch.com/tag/counties-florida/