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C+History
History · Auburndale

Auburndale dates to 1880, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns · #113 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Auburndale was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1924 on, and the census since 1920.

1880founded
4on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Auburndale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Auburndale began

When was Auburndale founded?

1880

Auburndale dates its founding to 1880 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 715 in 19202020 census: 15,616146 years

How historic is Auburndale?

C+

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1884.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Auburndale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Auburndale is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #113 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 Auburndale’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.1% of homes (±1.1) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register4 listings, 5 historic buildings, 2.7 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 39%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 82%

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 Auburndale’s 2.7 sits above most of its state (78% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1880.

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 Auburndale’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages4 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Auburndale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Auburndale’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Auburndale’s post office has been open since 1884.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Ariana Shores Mobile Home ParkJerico Mobile Home ParkPalms Mobile Home ParkWestside Ridge Mobile Home Community
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Auburndale
Auburndale Memorial ParkLincoln Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the National Register

4 historic places in Auburndale

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Holland Jenks House
Holland Jenks HouseAuburndale Citrus Growers Association Packing HouseEphriam M. Baynard HouseAuburndale City Hall, built 1927
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals3
Spanish Colonial Revival1
Mediterranean Revival1
Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival1
Folk Victorian1
Holland Jenks HouseLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Auburndale Citrus Growers Association Packing HouseLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Ephriam M. Baynard HouseLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Auburndale City HallBuilt 1927

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Auburndale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Auburndale.

Read it all →

Auburndale was founded in 1880 by Frank Fuller, who was seeking refuge from chilly winters in the Northeast United States. The place was originally named Sanatoria, from a hotel located there. When the railroad arrived in the 1880s, the town was renamed Auburndale at the suggestion of settlers from Auburndale, Massachusetts. The New England town had been named from the opening line of the poem "The Deserted Village" by Oliver Goldsmith.

Early on, the city became a chosen destination for a number of America's most prominent artists.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Auburndale, 1880 to 1991

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880
    FoundingAuburndale is established
  3. 1880In the archive1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida (FL) - Polk County - Auburndale - ED 53-2…
  4. 1884Post officeThe Auburndale post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1927BuiltAuburndale City Hall is built
  7. 1930Born hereC. Fred Jones is born here
  8. 1940In the archiveFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]
  9. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1981Born hereGlenn Martinez is born here
  11. 1982Born hereMorgan Ortagus is born here
  12. 1991Born hereKyle Ryan is born here
By decade

Auburndale, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida (FL) - Polk County - Auburndale - ED 53-22 to 2718801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida (FL) …
1890s–1930snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1940s2 items
Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]1940Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]1940Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today6 recent
WB Magnolia Avenue @ Auburndale Subdivision2022WB Magnolia Avenue @ Auburndale SubdivisionSB McKean Street @ Auburndale Subdivision2022SB McKean Street @ Auburndale SubdivisionWB FL 544; Overhead Sign Gantry near West End2021WB FL 544; Overhead Sign Gantry near West EndLake Myrtle Sports Aerial 12017Lake Myrtle Sports Aerial 1Auburndale FL city hall plaza012009Auburndale FL city hall plaza01FLMap-doton-Auburndale2004FLMap-doton-Auburndale
On the map

Auburndale on the map, 1944 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Auburndale. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Auburndale on the 1944 USGS mapAuburndale on the 1975 USGS mapAuburndale on the 1988 USGS mapAuburndale on the 1994 USGS map1944Auburndale 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 Auburndale.

Every building

Auburndale, building by building, 1924

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 sheet.

Auburndale fire insurance map, 1924, sheet 11924Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida (FL) - Polk County - Auburndale - ED 53-22 to 27
Retake this view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida (FL) - Polk County - Auburndale - ED 53-22 to 27, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Auburndale’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Auburndale, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00019201940196019802000202015,616

Grew from 715 people in 1920 to 15,616 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Auburndale’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Auburndale

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Morgan OrtagusAmerican television commentator, financial anal… · b. 1982
Kyle RyanAmerican baseball player · b. 1991
C. Fred JonesAmerican politician · b. 1930
G
Glenn MartinezAmerican football player · b. 1981
V
Van GreenAmerican football player · b. 1951
R
Rudy BarberAmerican football player · b. 1944
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Polk CityIts storyDInwoodIts storyC−Fussels CornerIts storyDWinter Haven7 historic placesBLake Alfred1 historic placeB−

Questions about Auburndale’s history

What year was Auburndale founded?

In 1880, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Auburndale’s post office opened in 1884, and the census of 1920 counted 715 people here.

How does Auburndale rank for history?

Auburndale is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #113 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 Auburndale?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Holland Jenks House (listed 1996, the first). 5 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Auburndale?

2% of Auburndale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1990.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (9), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.