I hope everyone is in good health and doing well.  Last week I published an outstanding 1959 aerial from my mother, Sandra Henderson Thurlow’s Shanley Collection entitled Looking Wide West 1959 Aerial~South Fork to Lake Okeechobee. It was very popular, so today, I wanted to  post the four remaining aerials that make up that collection. All of the photos are remarkable documenting a “time gone by.”  

I find the photos really interesting to look at…

What do you see? What don’t you see? How would you develop it, or not develop it  if we could start over? Me? I would never have cut that C-44 Canal connecting Lake Okeechobee to the St Lucie River! 

Since a picture speaks a thousand words, I’ll stop here and let you begin your visual tour of yesteryear. 

“~One with Roosevelt Bridge in the center is Feb, 9, 1971

~The on showing the South Fork and the new Turnpike is Dec. 5, 1957

~The one looking all the way to Lake Okeechobee is Oct. 26, 1959.

~The one looking from Palm City toward the airport and inlet is Jun. 13, 1957.

~The one looking along Dixie Highway A1A and US 1 toward the ocean is Dec. 19, 1958

The donor is William Shanley who used to live in the Stucco house across from the Quisenberry property on Sewall’s Point. He was in real estate and he and Dan Deighan bought the Real Estate office of C. O. Rainey on Colorado that had the aerials on the wall.”  ~Mom 

Below: (L) Area where St Lucie Canal (C-44 Canal) connects to the South Fork of the St Luice River. Here one can also see the New Turnpike, the “Sunshine Parkway,” and how beautiful the remaining wetlands were in the area of the South Fork. December 5, 1957.

Below:  An “old” Roosevelt Bridge, connecting the shortest distance over the St Lucie River; North River Shores over the bridge and west is already developed with canals;  Lighthouse Point is being built (L) in Palm City; most of Rio is empty to the east of US1 to the ocean; Stuart is built out as it is the County Seat and the heart of Martin County and our history.  February 9, 1971

Below: Looking from Palm City to the Airport. Hutchinson Island’s Indian River Plantation and Sailfish Point are not yet developed. The glaring white sands of the Stuart Causeway can be seen at what will become the Ernest Lyons Bridge (A1A) connecting Sewall’s Point to Hutchinson Island; seeing lots of greenery we can tell Sewall’s Point had many river to river estates remaining; in 1957 the town did incorporate and subdivision followed; Cabana Point Circle jutting forward is clearly seen as white fill in the St Lucie River south of the Palm City Bridge. Dredge and fill was not outlawed until the 1960/70s as its destructive environmental issues became clear especially for the marine environment. June 13, 1957.

Below: Dixie Highway A1A and US1 looking towards the ocean one sees that the Hobe Sound area is wide open and natural. Dixie Highway was the most traveled prior to US1 (R) Note the fires burning in the upper right corner. Sugarcane? Burning tree trunks? Something else? December 19, 1958

Thanks Mom! Your history files are AWESOME!