Bonifay dates to 1882, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #42 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Bonifay was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 31 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1883.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bonifay’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bonifay is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #42 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bonifay’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 Bonifay’s 111 sits above most of its state (94% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 31 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). Two sources give 1882.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Bonifay’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Bonifay was founded in 1882 when the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad was built across the Florida Panhandle, and was named by P&A executive W. D. Chipley for Frank Bonifay, member of a prominent family who had a brick-making factory in Pensacola where the P&A was headquartered. Frank Bonifay bought a stake in the P&A, which in 1891 was merged into the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, which after several more mergers became part of CSX Transportation in 1986.
It was officially incorporated as a municipality in 1886, as the "Town of Bonifay", and was reincorporated as the City of Bonifay in 1921.
In 1882, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bonifay’s post office opened in 1883, and the census of 1910 counted 922 people here.
How does Bonifay rank for history?
Bonifay is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #42 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 Bonifay?
One place: the Downtown Bonifay Historic District (listed 2020).
How old are the homes in Bonifay?
8% of Bonifay’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1978.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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