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History · Cottondale

Cottondale’s post office opened in 1883, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

1883first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
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Photo: The Bushranger · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Cottondale began

When was Cottondale founded?

1883

The Cottondale post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 848143 years
Founding year: the first Cottondale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Cottondale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cottondale’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 so far

Cottondale, in brief

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

Cottondale is a city in Jackson County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Florida Panhandle and North Florida. The population was 848 at the 2020 census, down from 933 at the 2010 census. The City of Cottondale was one of several Florida Panhandle communities devastated by Hurricane Michael in 2018.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 933 to 848 (-9%).

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

By decade

Cottondale, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Sign on WB US90 for2026Sign on WB US90 forSign on EB US90 for2026Sign on EB US90 forFGA crossing of US2312026FGA crossing of US231Bay Line crossings of Railroad Street2026Bay Line crossings of Railroad StreetBAYL-FGA diamond2026BAYL-FGA diamondFLMap-doton-Cottondale2004FLMap-doton-Cottondale
Famous people

Famous people close to Cottondale

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

See all →
Faye DunawayAmerican actress · b. 1941
Norman ThagardUnited States Marine Corps officer, aviator and… · b. 1943
Artis GilmoreAmerican basketball player · b. 1948
Bobby GoldsboroAmerican pop and country singer-songwriter · b. 1941
Joseph DubeAmerican weightlifter · b. 1944
Alex HamiltonAmerican basketball player · b. 1993

Questions about Cottondale’s history

What year was Cottondale founded?

The Cottondale post office opened in 1883, 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 →
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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 (6), 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.