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C−History
History · Babson Park

Babson Park’s post office opened in 1923, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Babson Park was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Its Register listing is the Babson Park Woman's Club. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1952 on.

1923first post office
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Babson Park’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Babson Park began

When was Babson Park founded?

1923

The Babson Park post office opened in 1923, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,330103 years

How historic is Babson Park?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Babson Park post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Babson Park’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Babson Park is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Babson Park’s overall grade.
Founding era1923, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19402.7% of homes (±4.1) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 9.1 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
NewerOlder

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 Babson Park’s 9.1 sits above most of its state (84% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Babson Park’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Babson Park’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewWebber Grounds: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Babson Park came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Babson Park.

Read it all →

The original name of the general area was Cody Villa, after the Cody family that moved there in the 1890s. Later, the community was known as Crooked Lake after the adjacent body of water of the same name. In 1923, economist and entrepreneur Roger Babson purchased approximately 400 acres of land in the Crooked Lake townsite with the intention of creating his own town. The town was soon renamed from Crooked Lake to Babson Park after him.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Babson Park, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Webber GroundsDate?Webber Grounds
Today17 recent
Webber International University Gate; SB on FL 172023Webber International University Gate; SB on FL 17Webber International University Gate; NB on FL 172023Webber International University Gate; NB on FL 17WB Libby Road near Old ACL Haines City Bridge; Babson Park, FL-032023WB Libby Road near Old ACL Haines City Bridge; Babson…WB Libby Road near Old ACL Haines City Bridge; Babson Park, FL-022023WB Libby Road near Old ACL Haines City Bridge; Babson…WB Libby Road near Old ACL Haines City Bridge; Babson Park, FL-012023WB Libby Road near Old ACL Haines City Bridge; Babson…USPS Babson Park, FL - 338272023USPS Babson Park, FL - 33827Polk County Fire & Rescue; Babson Park Station2023Polk County Fire & Rescue; Babson Park StationNB FL 17; Webber International University Sign2023NB FL 17; Webber International University SignEB Libby Road near Old ACL Haines City Bridge; Babson Park, FL-032023EB Libby Road near Old ACL Haines City Bridge; Babson…EB Libby Road near Old ACL Haines City Bridge; Babson Park, FL-022023EB Libby Road near Old ACL Haines City Bridge; Babson…EB Libby Road near Old ACL Haines City Bridge; Babson Park, FL-012023EB Libby Road near Old ACL Haines City Bridge; Babson…Dale R Fair Babson Park Elementary School2023Dale R Fair Babson Park Elementary SchoolBabson Park, FL; Southwest Gate Post2023Babson Park, FL; Southwest Gate PostBabson Park, FL; Southeast Gate Post2023Babson Park, FL; Southeast Gate PostSB FL 17 Enters Hillcrest Heights2022SB FL 17 Enters Hillcrest HeightsNB FL 17 Enters Babson Park (Close-Up)2022NB FL 17 Enters Babson Park (Close-Up)LakeWales&FrostproofFromTheISS2013LakeWales&FrostproofFromTheISS
On the map

Babson Park on the map, 1952 to 1988

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

Babson Park on the 1952 USGS mapBabson Park on the 1972 USGS mapBabson Park on the 1988 USGS map1952Babson Park 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 Babson Park.

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.

Webber Grounds
Retake this viewWebber Grounds

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Babson Park

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1997
Babson Park Woman's Club
Babson Park Woman's Club
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Mediterranean Revival1
Babson Park Woman's ClubLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Babson Park’s post office has been open since 1923.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hillcrest HeightsReed Mobile Home Park

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Hillcrest HeightsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFrostproof1 historic placeB−

Questions about Babson Park’s history

What year was Babson Park founded?

The Babson Park post office opened in 1923, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Babson Park rank for history?

Babson Park is more historic than 24% 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 Babson Park?

One place: the Babson Park Woman's Club (listed 1997).

How old are the homes in Babson Park?

3% of Babson Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (18), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.