About Pelican Lake

Before 20th century settlement, the lake area was an extensive marsh that included Seminole Golf Course and Captain’s Key. It drained to the south and emptied into Little Lake Worth near today’s Publix. When modern Juno Beach was founded in the 1940s, a weir was built to raise the water level and expand its size. As the lake’s shoreline and aquatic vegetation returned, ducks, waterfowl, and squirrels resided in increasing numbers.  Longtime mayor Stanley Kagan even registered the lake as a bird sanctuary in the 1970s.

The photo on the left from the 1893 map shows the Pelican Lake area as part of an extensive marsh fed by rainwater and groundwater seepage from the higher surrounding land. Alligators and rattlesnakes abounded.

The photo on the right from the 1880s shows the route of the Celestial Railroad (highlighted in red and today’s Ocean Drive) veered away from the coast in order to avoid the marsh.

When modern Juno Beach was being developed, the planners cleared the vegetation from the marsh and surrounding land. The 1949 aerial photo at the top of this page shows the lake as it was. An elevated weir was built at the south end near today’s gazebo across from Kagan Park. This raised the water level and expanded the lake’s size.

Photo courtesy Historical Society of Palm Beach County