History · Callaway

Callaway was first counted by the census in 1960

More historic than 5% of U.S. towns · #558 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Callaway was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1945 on, and the census since 1960.

1960first census

0on the National Register

2%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Callaway’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Callaway began

When was Callaway founded?

1960

Callaway first appears in the census in 1960. Two smaller post offices, Cook (1898) and Calloway (1903), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 950 in 19602020 census: 13,04566 years

How historic is Callaway?

More historic than 5% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first census.

History grade

What drives Callaway’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Callaway is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #558 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Callaway’s overall grade.

Founding era1960, from the first census: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD⁻Homes built before 19401.6% of homes (±1.5) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%C⁻National 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 5%

NewerOlder

Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 13%

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 Callaway’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 Callaway’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Callaway, and 2 old place names are still on the map.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Callaway’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Callaway’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.+2 Retake an old viewCallawayFLseal: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cook

1898–1920

Calloway

1903–1922

18901960today

Hamlets and corners on the map

CookOld Callaway

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

The story so far

Callaway, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Callaway yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Callaway is a city in Bay County, Florida, United States, and is a suburb of Panama City. The population was 13,045 at the 2020 census, down from 14,405 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Panama City–Panama City Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1960. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 14,405 to 13,045 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Callaway, 1898 to 1945

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

19th century
1898Post officeThe Cook post office opens
20th century
1903Post officeThe Calloway post office opens
1920Post officeThe Cook post office closes
1922Post officeThe Calloway post office closes
1945On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

Callaway, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date

Date?CallawayFLseal

Today5 recent

2026Super Station 4

2026PoFolks

2026EB FL22 from US98 in

2026Casey's

2004FLMap-doton-Callaway

On the map

Callaway on the map, 1945 to 1982

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

1945Parker sheet · 1:31,680

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

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.

Retake this viewCallawayFLseal

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

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Callaway, census by census

Between 950 and 14,405 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Callaway

Nobody well known was born in Callaway itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →

Carolyn MurphyAmerican model · b. 1973

Janay DeLoachAmerican track and field athlete · b. 1985

Tom ShieldsAmerican swimmer · b. 1991

Kenny SaiefAmerican-born Druze-Israeli footballer · b. 1993

Calvin PryorAmerican football player · b. 1992

Roman QuinnAmerican baseball player · b. 1993

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

SpringfieldIts storyD ParkerIts storyC

Questions about Callaway’s history

What year was Callaway founded?

The Callaway post office opened in 1960, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Callaway rank for history?

Callaway is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #558 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 Callaway?

2% of Callaway’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1991.

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 (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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