Most of Anna Maria was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1944 on, and the census since 1930.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1904.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Anna Maria’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Anna Maria is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Anna Maria’s 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 Anna Maria’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (33% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1892.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Anna Maria’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1893, George Emerson Bean built a home near the present day Rod & Reel Pier. Two years later in 1895, he filed a homesteaded claim of 160 acres (0.65 km2) on the north part of Anna Maria Island. Prior to Bean's homestead claim, Andrew Gowanlack would reside in the area where Bean would file his homestead at. However, Andrew never filed for a homestead claim but did receive three acres of land after Bean filed his homestead claim out of squatting rights. After George Bean's death in 1898, the land went to his son, George Wilhelm Bean, who partnered with Charles Roser, a wealthy real estate developer from St. Petersburg, to form the Anna Maria Beach Company to develop the area.
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.
In 1892, according to Wikidata. Anna Maria’s post office opened in 1904, and the census of 1930 counted 77 people here.
How does Anna Maria rank for history?
Anna Maria is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Anna Maria?
5% of Anna Maria’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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.
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