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C+History
History · Davenport

Davenport’s post office opened in 1885, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #132 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Davenport was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2015. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 28 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1920.

1885first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Davenport began

When was Davenport founded?

1885

The Davenport post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 117 in 19202020 census: 9,043141 years

How historic is Davenport?

C+

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Davenport post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Davenport’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Davenport is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #132 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 Davenport’s overall grade.
Founding era1885, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.5) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register1 listing, 28 historic buildings, 21.2 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 37%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 79%

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 Davenport’s 21.2 sits above most of its state (88% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 28 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. 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 Davenport’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Davenport Historic District takes in 28 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Davenport’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Davenport’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewOlga, Lena and Anna Hammer: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

1 listing protects 28 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
28
each building in a district counts
first listed
1997
Davenport Historic District
Davenport Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Classical Revival1
Mediterranean Revival1
Mission1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Davenport Historic DistrictLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals

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

The story

How Davenport came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Davenport.

Read it all →

The settlement in the area now known as Davenport was established in 1838 when the US military set up Fort Davenport during the Second Seminole War, about 12 miles north of the present site of Davenport. The fort was one of a number built at 20 mile intervals along a trail from Fort Brooke to Fort Mellon. The fort only lasted a few years. The fort was named for Colonel William Davenport, who served as the local U.S. commander in the war. There is no known documentary evidence to support an alternative claim that the city was named for a railroad conductor.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Davenport, 1885 to 1993

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885Post officeThe Davenport post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906In the archiveOlga, Lena and Anna Hammer
  5. 1940In the archiveFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]
  6. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1989Born hereVince Williams is born here
  8. 1993Born hereAaron Kelly is born here
  9. 1993Born hereKarlos Williams is born here
By decade

Davenport, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Olga, Lena and Anna Hammer1906Olga, Lena and Anna Hammer
1910s–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
1940s2 items
Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]1940Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]1940Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]
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
Today3 recent
Ye17ow + NinetyBlue2012Ye17ow + NinetyBlueDavenport FL watertower012011Davenport FL watertower01FLMap-doton-Davenport2004FLMap-doton-Davenport
On the map

Davenport on the map, 1953 to 1980

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

Davenport on the 1953 USGS mapDavenport on the 1970 USGS mapDavenport on the 1980 USGS map1953Davenport 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 Davenport.

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.

Olga, Lena and Anna Hammer
Retake this viewOlga, Lena and Anna Hammer, 1906

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Davenport, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,0001920194019601980200020209,043

Grew from 117 people in 1920 to 9,043 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Davenport

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

See all →
Aaron KellySinger · b. 1993
Vince WilliamsAmerican football player · b. 1989
Karlos WilliamsAmerican football player · b. 1993
Places that used to be

Old corners

Davenport’s post office has been open since 1885.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Spring Lake Mobile Home Park

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Haines City5 historic placesB−

Questions about Davenport’s history

What year was Davenport founded?

The Davenport post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Davenport rank for history?

Davenport is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #132 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 Davenport?

One place: the Davenport Historic District (listed 1997).

How old are the homes in Davenport?

0.0% of Davenport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 2015.

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 (6), 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.