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History · Bay Lake

Bay Lake dates to 1967

Most of Bay Lake was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2007. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1970.

1967founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Bay Lake began

When was Bay Lake founded?

1967

Bay Lake dates its founding to 1967 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 24 in 19702020 census: 2959 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bay Lake’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bay Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 74 in 1980; 29 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bay Lake’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Bay Lake, census by census

0198020002020Peak: 74

Peaked at 74 in 1980; 29 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

The story

How Bay Lake came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bay Lake.

Read it all →

Chapter 67-1104 of the Laws of Florida, incorporating the City of Bay Lake, was signed into law by Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr. on May 12, 1967, the same day he also signed chapters 67-764 (creating the Reedy Creek Improvement District, or RCID), also known as the Reedy Creek Improvement Act, and 67-1965 (incorporating the City of Reedy Creek). It was and still is located fully inside the RCID, and all its duties have been taken care of by the RCID. As fully described in Reedy Creek Improvement District, the city has always been controlled by the Walt Disney Company and has allowed them powers that other area attractions have not had.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bay Lake, 1953 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1967
    FoundingBay Lake is established
  4. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 74
By decade

Bay Lake, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Bay Lake, Florida2022Bay Lake, FloridaBay Lake, Florida2019Bay Lake, FloridaBay Lake, Florida2018-72018Bay Lake, Florida2018-7Bay Lake, Florida2018-62018Bay Lake, Florida2018-6Bay Lake, Florida2018-52018Bay Lake, Florida2018-5Bay Lake, Florida2018-42018Bay Lake, Florida2018-4Bay Lake, Florida2018-32018Bay Lake, Florida2018-3Bay Lake, Florida2018-22018Bay Lake, Florida2018-2Bay Lake, Florida2018-12018Bay Lake, Florida2018-1Bay Lake, Florida2018Bay Lake, FloridaSunrise - Bay Lake, Florida - 20152015Sunrise - Bay Lake, Florida - 2015SUNDOWN OVER FLORIDA EVERGLADES-MIAMI2013SUNDOWN OVER FLORIDA EVERGLADES-MIAMITopiary Ln, Bay Lake, Majic Kingdom2009Topiary Ln, Bay Lake, Majic KingdomE Buene Vista Dr, downtown Disney, FL2009E Buene Vista Dr, downtown Disney, FLMcDonalds Drive Thru - Orlando2008McDonalds Drive Thru - OrlandoBay Lake2008Bay LakeThumb wrestling2005Thumb wrestlingFLMap-doton-BayLake2004FLMap-doton-BayLake
On the map

Bay Lake on the map, 1953 to 1980

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

Bay Lake on the 1953 USGS mapBay Lake on the 1970 USGS mapBay Lake on the 1980 USGS map1953Windermere 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 Bay Lake.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bay Lake

Nobody well known was born in Bay Lake itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Dee Strange-GordonAmerican baseball player · b. 1988
Jeff DempsAmerican football player and sprinter · b. 1990
Peter HootenAmerican actor and producer · b. 1950
Richard YoungActor · b. 1955
K
Kendrick PerryAmerican basketball player · b. 1992
S
Stefan MoodyAmerican basketball player · b. 1993
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Epcot Center Ultralight AirportairportLake Buena Vista Stolportairport

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.

Horizon WestIts storyDLake Buena VistaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bay Lake’s history

What year was Bay Lake founded?

In 1967, according to Wikidata. the census of 1970 counted 24 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (18), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.