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CHistory
History · Dania Beach

Dania Beach dates to 1898, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns · #168 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Nyberg-Swanson House. Most of Dania Beach was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1910.

1898founded
1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dania Beach’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dania Beach began

When was Dania Beach founded?

1898

Dania Beach dates its founding to 1898 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 369 in 19102020 census: 31,723128 years

How historic is Dania Beach?

C

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1897.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Dania Beach’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dania Beach is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #168 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dania Beach’s overall grade.
Founding era1898, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.1% of homes (±0.7) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 0.3 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 29%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 74%

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 Dania Beach’s 0.3 sits above most of its state (68% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1898.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Dania Beach’s past

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

Lost villages15 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Aqua Isles Mobile Home ParkAvon ParkDavid Zell Trailer ParkEmerald Lakes Village Mobile Home ParkHills Mobile Home ParkHitching Post Mobile Home ParkNorth Coast Trailer ParkOcean Waterway Mobile Home ParkPlayland IslesPort LaudaniaRamgoh Mobile Home ParkRavenswood EstatesSheldon Mobile Home CourtTaylor's Trailer ParkWeiners Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Dania Beach
Woodlawn

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

The story

How Dania Beach came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dania Beach.

Read it all →

The area was started as a neighborhood called Modello in the late 19th century. In November 1904, the area was incorporated as the "Town of Dania," because most of the 35 residents were farmers of Danish ancestry. On January 4, 1926, Dania voted to annex itself to the City of Hollywood.

After the September 1926 Miami hurricane decimated Hollywood's fortunes, most of Dania seceded from the City of Hollywood and reincorporated as a city. The areas that chose to remain part of the City of Hollywood caused Dania's current noncontinuous city boundaries. In November 1998, the "City of Dania" formally changed its name to "City of Dania Beach". The name "Dania" is still commonly used to refer to the city.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dania Beach, 1897 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1897Post officeThe Dania post office opens
  3. 1898
    FoundingDania Beach is established
  4. 20th century
  5. 1935Born hereF. Eugene Tubbs is born here
  6. 1937In the archiveWhite and Negro women employed at the canning plant in Dania, Florida 8b28457v
  7. 1940In the archiveConnecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District o…
  8. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1965Born hereDanny McManus is born here
  10. 1967In the archiveSky trail amusement ride at Pirates World - Dania, Florida
By decade

Dania Beach, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1960s5 items
White and Negro women employed at the canning plant in Dania, Florida 8b28457v1937White and Negro women employed at the canning plant i…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…Sky trail amusement ride at Pirates World - Dania, Florida1967Sky trail amusement ride at Pirates World - Dania, Fl…
1970s–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
Today13 recent
Dania Beach, FL, USA - panoramio (1)2010Dania Beach, FL, USA - panoramio (1)Dania Beach FL Nyberg-Swanson House plaque012010Dania Beach FL Nyberg-Swanson House plaque01Chuttt^ Juste à les regarder et admirer, mignons non^ Wait for me says the last one2010Chuttt^ Juste à les regarder et admirer, mignons non^…19 petits canetons a s'occuper, quelle corvée^ A clutch of 19 ducklings a 24 hours a day hard job201019 petits canetons a s'occuper, quelle corvée^ A clut…Under the Dania Beach Pier - Sous le quai2009Under the Dania Beach Pier - Sous le quaiOK^ Guys let's find the coconut - On tourne en rond pour un coco2009OK^ Guys let's find the coconut - On tourne en rond p…Funny lakes they get in America say the Egyptian Geese2009Funny lakes they get in America say the Egyptian GeeseFriendly meeting at the pond - OK. On peut jaser le président est occupé2009Friendly meeting at the pond - OK. On peut jaser le p…Did you find something, Gray Head^ Il cherche toujours la perle rare,Ha^ Ha2009Did you find something, Gray Head^ Il cherche toujour…Dania-beach-fl2008Dania-beach-flNo Fred^ We dont repair truck dental problems2006No Fred^ We dont repair truck dental problemsIGFA Museum Front Name2006IGFA Museum Front NameFEMA - 27263 - Photograph by Marvin Nauman taken on 08-28-2005 in Florida2005FEMA - 27263 - Photograph by Marvin Nauman taken on 0…
On the map

Dania Beach on the map, 1949 to 1994

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

Dania Beach on the 1949 USGS mapDania Beach on the 1962 USGS mapDania Beach on the 1970 USGS mapDania Beach on the 1983 USGS mapDania Beach on the 1994 USGS map1949Fort Lauderdale South 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 Dania Beach.

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.

White and Negro women employed at the canning plant in Dania, Florida 8b28457v
Retake this viewWhite and Negro women employed at the canning plant in Dania, Florida 8b28457v, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Dania Beach

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Nyberg-Swanson House
Nyberg-Swanson House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Colonial Revival1
Nyberg-Swanson HouseLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Dania Beach, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00019201940196019802000202031,723

Grew from 369 people in 1910 to 31,723 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Dania Beach

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

See all →
Danny McManusAmerican football player · b. 1965
F. Eugene TubbsAmerican politician · b. 1935
Help out

Finish Dania Beach’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWhite and Negro women employed at the c…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Hollywood5 historic placesCFort Lauderdale17 historic placesC+Davie3 historic placesC−

Questions about Dania Beach’s history

What year was Dania Beach founded?

In 1898, according to Wikidata. Dania Beach’s post office opened in 1897, and the census of 1910 counted 369 people here.

How does Dania Beach rank for history?

Dania Beach is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #168 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.

What is on the National Register in Dania Beach?

One place: the Nyberg-Swanson House (listed 1999).

How old are the homes in Dania Beach?

1% of Dania Beach’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.