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History · Bristol

Bristol’s post office opened in 1859, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Bristol was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1945 on and the census since 1960.

1859first post office
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Bristol began

When was Bristol founded?

1859

The Bristol post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 614 in 19602020 census: 918167 years
Founding year: the first Bristol post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bristol’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 Bristol are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bristol’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Bristol came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bristol.

Read it all →

Bristol was first settled in 1859, and started with a population of 300, with the purpose of being the county seat of Liberty County. The community consisted of one general store, three sawmills, three gristmills, a hotel, a Baptist church, a Methodist church, and a Presbyterian church. An American pioneer named Moses Strause, who was one of the first non-indigenous settlers, deeded land to the county on which a small log building that Strause built was converted into the county's first courthouse. During that time, the prices of land ranged from $2.00 to $25.00 per acre (0.404686 hectare).

ChaptersClaimed Garden of Eden site

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bristol, 1859 to 1945

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859Post officeThe Bristol post office opens
  3. 1860Born hereWilliam Bostwick Sheppard is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1925Born hereGlenn E. Summers is born here
  6. 1935BuiltTorreya State Park is built
  7. 1945On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bristol, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Untitled photo2026Untitled photoUntitled photo2026Untitled photoBristol, Florida water tower2026Bristol, Florida water towerBristol, Florida city limit sign on WB FL202026Bristol, Florida city limit sign on WB FL20Traffic light at FL20 and SB CR122025Traffic light at FL20 and SB CR12Leaving Bristol FL20WB2020Leaving Bristol FL20WBBristol welcome sign, FL20EB2020Bristol welcome sign, FL20EBBristol sign, Fl SR 12 EB2020Bristol sign, Fl SR 12 EBBristol city limit, FL SR 12 EB2020Bristol city limit, FL SR 12 EBBristol FL looking east on SR202017Bristol FL looking east on SR20FLMap-doton-Bristol2004FLMap-doton-Bristol
On the map

Bristol on the map, 1945 to 1990

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

Bristol on the 1945 USGS mapBristol on the 1990 USGS map1945Bristol 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 Bristol.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Bristol

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Torreya State Park
Torreya State ParkBuilt 1935

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

People over time

Bristol, census by census

02004006008001,0001960198020002020Peak: 1,044

Between 614 and 1,044 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Bristol

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

See all →
Glenn E. SummersAmerican politician · b. 1925
W
William Bostwick SheppardUnited States federal judge · b. 1860

Questions about Bristol’s history

What year was Bristol founded?

The Bristol post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Bristol?

One place: the Torreya State Park (listed 1972).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (11), 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.