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History · Cinco Bayou

Cinco Bayou dates to 1940

Most of Cinco Bayou was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1938 on and the census since 1960.

1940founded
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Skye Marthaler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Cinco Bayou began

When was Cinco Bayou founded?

1940

Cinco Bayou dates its founding to 1940 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 643 in 19602020 census: 45786 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Cinco Bayou’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 Cinco Bayou are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1960 and 1980, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cinco Bayou’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cinco Bayou’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
People over time

Cinco Bayou, census by census

01002003004005006007001960198020002020643 in 1960Low: 202

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1960 and 1980, then more than doubled.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

The story

How Cinco Bayou came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cinco Bayou.

Read it all →

Cinco Bayou was platted in 1940, and the Town of Cinco Bayou officially incorporated as a municipality on July 3, 1950, at a meeting held at the Cinco Bayou garage, attended by about 60 people. Gordon Gibson was elected the first mayor. At this time there were about 250 residents in the area between the Fort Walton city limits and the Cinco Bayou, an east-west oriented finger of water on the west end of the Choctawhatchee Bay.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cinco Bayou, 1938 to 1960

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1938On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1940
    FoundingCinco Bayou is established
  4. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 643
By decade

Cinco Bayou, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Cinco Bayou Town Hall2014Cinco Bayou Town HallFLMap-doton-CincoBayou2004FLMap-doton-CincoBayou
On the map

Cinco Bayou on the map, 1938 to 1994

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

Cinco Bayou on the 1938 USGS mapCinco Bayou on the 1956 USGS mapCinco Bayou on the 1970 USGS mapCinco Bayou on the 1987 USGS mapCinco Bayou on the 1994 USGS map1938Mary Esther 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 Cinco Bayou.

Famous people

Famous people close to Cinco Bayou

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

See all →
Kevin Stitt28th governor of Oklahoma · b. 1972
Bubba WatsonAmerican professional golfer · b. 1978
Alexa GuarachiChilean tennis player · b. 1990
Daniel EwingAmerican basketball player · b. 1983
M
Mark EverettAmerican track and field athlete, middle-distan… · b. 1968
Aric AlmirolaRacecar driver · b. 1984
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Fort Walton Beach2 historic placesC

Questions about Cinco Bayou’s history

What year was Cinco Bayou founded?

In 1940, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1960 counted 643 people here.

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 (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.