Altamonte Springs’ post office opened in 1887, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #182 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Altamonte Springs was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listing is the Bradlee-McIntyre House. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1962 on, and the census since 1920.
Founding year: the first Altamonte Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1920.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Altamonte Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Altamonte Springs is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #182 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Altamonte Springs’ overall grade.
Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Altamonte Springs’ 0.2 sits above most of its state (68% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1920.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Altamonte Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Dr. Washington Kilmer of Cincinnati was the first person of European background to settle into the area circa 1870, and he named the area Altamonte. In 1882, the Altamonte Land, Hotel and Navigation Company, founded by Thomas C. Simpson and four other Massachusetts businessmen, gave the area its present name: Altamonte Springs.
The company developed the core community along Altamonte Avenue (today's SR 436) between Maitland and Longwood Avenues (today's Ronald Reagan Boulevard). On November 11, 1920, the residents of Altamonte Springs voted 38 to 7 in favor of incorporation.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Altamonte Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1962Casselberry sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Altamonte Springs.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewAltamonte Hotel tram, 1880s
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Altamonte Springs’ page.
The Altamonte Springs post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1920.
How does Altamonte Springs rank for history?
Altamonte Springs is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #182 of 638 in Florida. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Altamonte Springs?
One place: the Bradlee-McIntyre House (listed 1991).
How old are the homes in Altamonte Springs?
0.7% of Altamonte Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1983.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1880s
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