History · Bee Ridge

Bee Ridge’s post office opened in 1912, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #258 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Bee Ridge was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Its Register listing is the Bee Ridge Woman's Club. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1980.

1912first post office

1on the National Register

0.2%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Bee Ridge began

When was Bee Ridge founded?

1912

The Bee Ridge post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 3,313 in 19802020 census: 9,955114 years

How historic is Bee Ridge?

C⁻

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Bee Ridge post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

History grade

What drives Bee Ridge’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bee Ridge is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #258 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 Bee Ridge’s overall grade.

Founding era1912, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsD Homes built before 19400.2% of homes (±0.3) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%D National Register1 listing, 1.0 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 17%

NewerOlder

Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 60%

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 Bee Ridge’s 1.0 sits above most of its state (72% 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 (±0.3 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 Bee Ridge’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 Bee Ridge are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bee Ridge’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

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The story so far

Bee Ridge, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bee Ridge yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Bee Ridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The population was 9,955 at the 2020 census, up from 9,598 at the 2010 census. It is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1912. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 9,598 to 9,955 (+4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Bee Ridge, 1912 to 1956

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

20th century
1912Post officeThe Bee Ridge post office opens
1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1956Post officeThe Bee Ridge post office closes

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.

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On the map

Bee Ridge on the map, 1947 to 1987

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

1947Bee Ridge 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 Bee Ridge.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Bee Ridge

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1995

Bee Ridge Woman's Club

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1

Bungalow/Craftsman1

Bee Ridge Woman's ClubLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements

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

People over time

Bee Ridge, census by census

Grew from 3,313 people in 1980 to 9,955 in 2020, 3 times over.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bee Ridge

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

See all →

Carla GuginoAmerican actress · b. 1971

Stephen RootAmerican actor · b. 1951

Ashley RickardsAmerican actress · b. 1992

Austin AbramsAmerican actor · b. 1996

Emma WeyantAmerican swimmer · b. 2001

Shanley CaswellAmerican actress · b. 1991

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Bee Ridge had its own post office from 1912 to 1956.

Bee Ridge

1912–1956

19101970today

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.

Sarasota SpringsIts storyD South Gate RidgeIts storyD

Questions about Bee Ridge’s history

What year was Bee Ridge founded?

The Bee Ridge post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Bee Ridge rank for history?

Bee Ridge is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #258 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 Bee Ridge?

One place: the Bee Ridge Woman's Club (listed 1995).

How old are the homes in Bee Ridge?

0.2% of Bee Ridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1986.

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 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.

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