Half of Big Pine Key’s homes were built after 1986
More historic than 6% of U.S. towns · #449 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Big Pine Key was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1972 on, and the census since 1980.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Big Pine Key is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #449 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Big Pine Key’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 Big Pine Key’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Big Pine Key’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Big Pine, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Big PineDeans Trailer ParkHowards Haven Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Big Pine Key
Memorial Gardens
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Big Pine Key, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Big Pine Key yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Big Pine Key is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Monroe County, Florida, United States, on an island of the same name in the Florida Keys. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 4,521.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,252 to 4,521 (+6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Big Pine Key, 1915 to 1987
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Big Pine Key is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #449 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 Big Pine Key?
0.0% of Big Pine Key’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (6), 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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1987
1987
1987
