5 places in town are on the National Register, among them the GOVERNOR STONE (schooner), a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 652 buildings. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1829.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Apalachicola’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Apalachicola is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Apalachicola’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 Apalachicola’s 2,694 sits above most of its state (100% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 655 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points). Two sources give 1827.
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 Apalachicola’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Apalachicola Province, after whom the river and, ultimately the city, are named, was located along the lower part of the Chattahoochee River in Alabama and Georgia in the 17th century, when the Spanish included the Chattahoochee as part of the Apalachicola River. The name is a combination of the Hitchiti words apalahchi, meaning "on the other side", and okli, meaning "people". In original reference to the settlement, it probably meant "people on the other side of the river".
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Apalachicola. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1943Apalachicola 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 Apalachicola.
Every building
Apalachicola, building by building, 1897–1922
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1827, according to Wikidata. Apalachicola’s post office opened in 1829, and the census of 1860 counted 1,904 people here.
How does Apalachicola rank for history?
Apalachicola is more historic than 96% 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.
What is on the National Register in Apalachicola?
5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Trinity Episcopal Church (listed 1972, the first), 1 historic district, the Apalachicola Historic District, with 652 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 655 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Apalachicola?
27% of Apalachicola’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
1899
1909
1909
1909![A young oyster fisher [?] Others smaller employed in busy season. Apalachicola, Fla. Randsey Summerford says he starts …](https://images.townratings.com/story/2154/3d82f2cbbb4fa74e2f44-s.jpg)
1909
1940
1940
1947
1953
