Half of Cypress Gardens’ homes were built after 1979
More historic than 11% of U.S. towns · #337 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Cypress Gardens was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1959 on, and the census since 1970.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cypress Gardens is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #337 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cypress Gardens’ overall grade.
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 Cypress Gardens’ 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 →
The story so far
Cypress Gardens, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cypress Gardens yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Cypress Gardens is a census-designated place (CDP) in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,169 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 8,917 to 10,169 (+14%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
Cypress Gardens, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cypress Gardens. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1959Winter Haven 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 Cypress Gardens.
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 viewBarefoot Skiing at Cypress Gardens, Dick Pope, Jr. Men's World Water Ski Champion (NBY 9948), 1951
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Cypress Gardens’ page.
Cypress Gardens is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #337 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 Cypress Gardens?
1% of Cypress Gardens’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1979.
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) 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.
1951
1951
1953
1953
1954
1954
