Boca Raton’s post office opened in 1923, and 10 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #181 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Boca Raton was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 10 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 59 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1946 on, and the census since 1930.
The Boca Raton post office opened in 1923, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1925. Two smaller post offices, Bocaratone (1899) and Yamato (1907), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 447 in 19302020 census: 97,422103 years
How historic is Boca Raton?
C
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Boca Raton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1925.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Boca Raton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Boca Raton is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #181 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Boca Raton’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Boca Raton ranks #320 on History.
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 Boca Raton’s 6.8 sits above most of its state (83% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 68 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Boca Raton’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1925 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Boca Raton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area where Boca Raton is now located was originally occupied by the Glades culture, a Native American tribe of hunter-gatherers who relocated seasonally and between shellfish sources, distinct from the Tequesta to the south and the Jaega to the north.
When Spain surrendered Florida to Britain in 1763, the remaining Tequestas, along with other Indians who had taken refuge in the Florida Keys, were evacuated to Cuba. In the 1770s, Bernard Romans reported seeing both abandoned villages and no native population in the area.
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.
The Boca Raton post office opened in 1923, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1925.
How does Boca Raton rank for history?
Boca Raton is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #181 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 Boca Raton?
10 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Boca Raton Old City Hall (listed 1980, the first), 1 historic district, the Pearl City National Register Historic District, with 59 contributing buildings, and 3 structures. 68 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Boca Raton?
0.9% of Boca Raton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (10), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
1928
