On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ave Maria is among the newest of U.S. towns, #627 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ave 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 Ave 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 still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 2005.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Ave Maria’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Ave Maria was founded in 2005 by Ave Maria Development, a partnership consisting of Barron Collier Companies and the Ave Maria Foundation led by Tom Monaghan, a Catholic entrepreneur and founder of Domino's Pizza and Ave Maria University. The development of the town was made possible when the Florida legislature created the Ave Maria Stewardship Community District, a limited local government whose purpose is to provide community infrastructure. The town was the first to develop under the Rural Lands Stewardship Area (RLSA) program. 2025 marked the 20th anniversary of Ave Maria's groundbreaking. Since its establishment in 2005, the community of Ave Maria has sold over 5,000 homes, resulting in the emergence of new businesses, including the Midtown Plaza, which will house various retail establishments to support local economic growth.
In 2005, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town.
How does Ave Maria rank for history?
Ave Maria is among the newest of U.S. towns, #627 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.
How old are the homes in Ave Maria?
0.0% of Ave Maria’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 2015.
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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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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