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Capitola Joy MartPhoto: The Bushranger · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Capitola

Capitola’s post office opened in 1909

Most of Capitola was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1954 on.

1909first post office
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
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Photo: The Bushranger · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Capitola began

When was Capitola founded?

1909

The Capitola post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 247117 years
Founding year: the first Capitola post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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

Start Capitola’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Capitola came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Capitola.

Read it all →

Evergreen Hills Plantation, a large cotton plantation, occupied the land that is now or extremely close to Capitola. From 1908 through the 1940s Capitola was served by the Florida Central Railroad. Capitola was originally called the town of Mays. Some of the first families that moved into Capitola were the Duprees, Boyds, and the Upchurches.

On March 7, 2008, a confirmed EF1 tornado struck the community with winds estimated at 105 miles per hour. Six to eight houses were damaged near the intersection of Capitola and Whitehouse roads. One minor injury was reported.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Capitola, 1909 to 1955

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1909Post officeThe Capitola post office opens
  3. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1955Post officeThe Capitola post office closes
By decade

Capitola, decade by decade

Today4 recent
St. John Missionary Baptist Church2025St. John Missionary Baptist ChurchSB Leon CR1541 at CR15402025SB Leon CR1541 at CR1540FGA Tallahassee Subdivision crossing Baum Road2025FGA Tallahassee Subdivision crossing Baum RoadCapitola Joy Mart2025Capitola Joy Mart
On the map

Capitola on the map, 1954 to 1982

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

Capitola on the 1954 USGS mapCapitola on the 1982 USGS map1954Lloyd 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 Capitola.

Famous people

Famous people close to Capitola

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

See all →
Joanne WoodwardAmerican actress · b. 1930
Jackie RobinsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1919
Shea WhighamAmerican actor · b. 1969
Brad DavisAmerican actor · b. 1949
Teresa EdwardsAmerican basketball player · b. 1964
Piper CurdaAmerican actress · b. 1997
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Capitola had its own post office from 1909 to 1955.

Capitola
1909–1955
19001960today

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

Questions about Capitola’s history

What year was Capitola founded?

The Capitola post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.