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DHistory
History · Cross City

Cross City’s post office opened in 1908

More historic than 12% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Cross City was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1978 on, and the census since 1930.

1908first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cross City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cross City began

When was Cross City founded?

1908

The Cross City post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,071 in 19302020 census: 1,689118 years

How historic is Cross City?

D

More historic than 12% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Cross City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Cross City’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cross City is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cross City’s overall grade.
Founding era1908, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19404.4% of homes (±3.4) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 12%
NewerOlder

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 Cross City’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 C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Cross City’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 2,268 in 1970; 1,689 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · People over time

Cross City, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50019401960198020002020Peak: 2,268

Peaked at 2,268 in 1970; 1,689 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

The story so far

Cross City, in brief

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

Cross City is a town and the county seat of Dixie County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,689 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1908. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,728 to 1,689 (-2%).

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

Timeline

Cross City, 1880 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - Dixie County - ED 15-1 - ED 15-12
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908Post officeThe Cross City post office opens
  5. 1923Born hereThaddeus Parker is born here
  6. 1940In the archiveConnecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District o…
  7. 1963Born hereEugene McDowell is born here
  8. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 2,268
  9. 1978On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1995Born hereDuke Dawson is born here
By decade

Cross City, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - Dixie County - ED 15-1 - ED 15-1218801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - Dix…
1890s–1930snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1940s7 items
Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today6 recent
Dixie CR351 and SE 22nd Avenue2026Dixie CR351 and SE 22nd AvenueDixie CR351 and NE 210th Street2026Dixie CR351 and NE 210th StreetCross City Cemetery2026Cross City CemeteryCharlie Wilder Parking Lot memorial, Cross City2014Charlie Wilder Parking Lot memorial, Cross City2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for Cross City, Florida20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for Cross Cit…BookFLMap-doton-CrossCity2004FLMap-doton-CrossCity
On the map

Cross City on the map in 1978

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cross City.

Cross City on the 1978 USGS map1978Cross City sheet · 1:100,000

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

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - Dixie County - ED 15-1 - ED 15-12
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - Dixie County - ED 15-1 - ED 15-12, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Cross City

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

See all →
E
Eugene McDowellAmerican basketball player · b. 1963
T
Thaddeus ParkerRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1923
D
Duke DawsonAmerican-football player · b. 1995
Help out

Finish Cross City’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Cross City’s history

What year was Cross City founded?

The Cross City post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Cross City rank for history?

Cross City is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns. 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 Cross City?

4% of Cross City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1979.

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 (14), 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.