Bay Pines’ post office opened in 1934, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #205 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Bay Pines was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 14 buildings. Below: maps from 1974 on and the census since 1980.
Founding year: the first Bay Pines post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Bay Pines’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bay Pines is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #205 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 Bay Pines’ 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 Bay Pines’ 55.6 sits above most of its state (92% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 14 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% 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 (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. 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 Bay Pines’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bay Pines yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bay Pines is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bay Pines had a population of 3,106. The community is home to Bay Pines Veterans Hospital and Bay Pines National Cemetery.
Its first post office opened in 1934. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,931 to 3,106 (+6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
The Bay Pines post office opened in 1934, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Bay Pines rank for history?
Bay Pines is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #205 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 Bay Pines?
One place: the Bay Pines Veterans Administration Home and Hospital Historic District (listed 2012).
How old are the homes in Bay Pines?
0.0% of Bay Pines’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
