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DHistory
History · Brandon

Brandon dates to 1857

More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #287 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Brandon was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1960.

1857founded
0on the National Register
0.4%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Brandon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Brandon began

When was Brandon founded?

1857

Brandon dates its founding to 1857 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 1,665 in 19602020 census: 114,626169 years

How historic is Brandon?

D

More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1878.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Brandon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Brandon is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #287 of 638 in Florida. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Brandon’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.4% of homes (±0.2) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical FL town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 15%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 55%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Brandon ranks #368 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 Brandon’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.

Newer cities are common at Brandon’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1857.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Brandon’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Brandon, and 245 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19216 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1999. Watch Brandon change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Brandon’s post office has been open since 1890. Another post office, Limona, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Limona
1878–1964
Brandon
1890–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Abbey TraceAlexandria PlaceAllendaleAmaya EstatesAmys AcresAnselmi AcresAvalon at Providence LakesAvalon TerraceBarrington Oaks EastBatesBell Shoals GardensBelle TimbreBensonBloomingdale VillageBloomingdale VillasBranda VistaBrandon BrookBrandon Brook PlazaBrandon Country EstatesBrandon CrossroadsBrandon EstatesBrandon ForestBrandon Forest ReserveBrandon Gardens
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Brandon
Hillsboro Memorial GardensHillsboro Memorial Gardens

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Brandon’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewWestfieldmall: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Brandon on the map, 1921 to 1999

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

Brandon on the 1921 USGS mapBrandon on the 1944 USGS mapBrandon on the 1956 USGS mapBrandon on the 1969 USGS mapBrandon on the 1981 USGS mapBrandon on the 1999 USGS map1921Tampa sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Brandon.

The story

How Brandon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brandon.

Read it all →

On January 20, 1857, John Brandon arrived at Fort Brooke from Mississippi with his first wife Martha, his seven sons, and their seven slaves. At first, they moved to what is now the Seffner area. Then in August 1858, John Brandon purchased 40 acres (160,000 m2) in the New Hope area and 160 acres (0.65 km2) later on and then named his land "Brandon". John and his second wife Victoria's house was located on what became the corner of Knights Avenue and Victoria Street. Four years later, the New Hope Church was built on land donated by Brandon. Besides being the first church in the community, it also served as Brandon's first school.

ChaptersFoundingEarly 20th centuryEra of rapid growth

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Brandon, 1857 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingBrandon is established
  3. 1878Post officeThe Limona post office opens
  4. 1890Post officeThe Brandon post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1964Post officeThe Limona post office closes
  8. 1967Born hereAllen West is born here
  9. 1968Born hereDwayne Schintzius is born here
  10. 1995Born hereMatt Breida is born here
By decade

Brandon, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
WestfieldmallDate?Westfieldmall
Today15 recent
W Bloomingdale Ave2019W Bloomingdale Ave"Memoria in Aeterna", Brandon Family Cemetery2018"Memoria in Aeterna", Brandon Family CemeteryCloud iridescence2017Cloud iridescenceChipotle2013ChipotleBuccaneers2013BuccaneersApple store2013Apple storeI-75 SB at FL 618 exit2012I-75 SB at FL 618 exitFL 618 Toll Sign2011FL 618 Toll SignMegascops asio Kendall Indian Hammocks Park2010Megascops asio Kendall Indian Hammocks ParkWhite Ibises2009White IbisesLand Comp2008Land CompHamburgers and fries at a restaurant in2008Hamburgers and fries at a restaurant inBrandonFuegoChurrascaria2008BrandonFuegoChurrascariaBrandonAug08ChicagoMaxwellExterior2008BrandonAug08ChicagoMaxwellExteriorBrandonAug08AMCWiseguyz2008BrandonAug08AMCWiseguyz
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Westfieldmall
Retake this viewWestfieldmall

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Brandon’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Brandon, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,0001960198020002020114,626

Grew from 1,665 people in 1960 to 114,626 in 2020, more than tenfold.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Brandon

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
A
Allen WestAmerican musician · b. 1967
Dwayne SchintziusAmerican basketball player, center · b. 1968
Matt BreidaAmerican football running back · b. 1995
Damon FowlerAmerican electric blues and blues rock singer, …
C
Chris GannonAmerican football player · b. 1966
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

MangoIts storyC−Palm River-Clair MelIts storyDValricoIts storyDRiverviewIts storyDSeffnerIts storyC−East Lake-Orient ParkIts storyD

Questions about Brandon’s history

What year was Brandon founded?

In 1857, according to Wikidata. Brandon’s post office opened in 1878, and the census of 1960 counted 1,665 people here.

How does Brandon rank for history?

Brandon is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #287 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 Brandon?

0.4% of Brandon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1993.

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 Wikimedia Commons (16), 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.