In the late 1940s, much of the land in what is now Cocoanut Park and North River Shores was owned by Robert (“Bob”) and Hilda Bradford Wason.

A fun detail many neighbors love once they learn it: Nosaw Harbor Park is “Wason” spelled backward.

In 1951, Bob Wason passed away suddenly. The story goes that New York attorneys advised Mrs. Wason to get rid of the North River Shores property, saying:

“It will never amount to anything.”

Thankfully, they couldn’t have been more wrong.

In the mid-1950s, after parts of Cocoanut Park had already been platted and partially sold, a new group of investors came together to buy and develop the remainder of the property.

That group formed in 1956 and moved forward with platting and selling what would become North River Shores.

And here’s something many of us don’t realize: the canals we enjoy today were not “created out of nothing.”

They were once a natural series of sloughs, ponds, and creeks — until the vision of river-connected canals was conceived and brought to life.

More water.

More wildness.

More quiet.

And yet, somehow, we didn’t lose that sense of stillness when the neighborhood grew — we built around it.

Old newspaper articles and advertisements from that era described North River Shores as “under the pines, close to the St. Lucie” — a peaceful Old Florida waterfront community designed to preserve the natural landscape and its sense of calm.

By the early 1960s, sales materials were describing North River Shores as a place of “quiet beauty,” even naming familiar places we still know today — North Shore Harbor, Nosaw Harbor, and Half Mile Lake. It’s remarkable to realize how much of that original vision remains part of the neighborhood today.

Some of the earliest developed sections were along the river and north of Cocoanut Park. Over time, the neighborhood expanded — and in those early days, even getting to certain streets meant taking different routes than we do now.

Early lot prices reflected that growth:

    •    Inside lots: $2,500

    •    Canal lots: $4,400

    •    Riverfront lots: $7,500

Like many places, the early 1960s were economically challenging — but the neighborhood endured. By the late 1960s and 1970s, lots were sold out, families had settled in, and North River Shores became what many of us know it as today:

A community where people still care.

A community with pride.

A community that still feels like home.

What makes North River Shores truly rare isn’t just the history — it’s what remains.

Because so much of Florida’s original shoreline has been filled, fenced, or built over…

Yet here, we still have places where the river and land meet in a way that feels peaceful and unchanged.

And one of the best parts is — so much of that original feeling is still here.

The quiet streets and the green spaces that continue to hold onto a slower, more peaceful pace.

A spot to breathe.

A spot to reflect.

A spot to remember that not everything has to be “more” to be meaningful.

Sometimes the best part of a neighborhood is the part that lets you slow down.

Do you have an old photo of the neighborhood? A story from the early days? A favorite memory from raising kids here, walking the parks, boating the river, or simply enjoying the calm?

We’d love to share more neighbor memories in future Stroll articles — because the story of North River Shores isn’t just something from the past.

It’s still being written.

By all of us.