DeLand dates to 1876, and 11 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns · #41 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of DeLand was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. 11 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 453 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1964 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1877.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives DeLand’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, DeLand is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #41 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of DeLand’s 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 DeLand’s 111 sits above most of its state (94% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 463 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1876.
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 DeLand’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Stetson, opened and closed inside today’s town.
De Land
1877–today
Stetson
1895–1906
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
A Better Place Mobile Home ParkA Better Place Phase III Mobile Home ParkDeland Municipal Trailer ParkHawthorne Hills of Deland Mobile Home ParkLakeside Mobile Home ParkLakeside Village Mobile Home ParkMeadowlea Estates Mobile Home ParkSha De Land Mobile Home ParkThe Oaks Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Conrad FieldparkDe Land Junior High SchoolschoolFlorida Military SchoolschoolNaval Air Station DeLandmilitaryPage Fieldpark
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside DeLand
CharitableCharnelDeLand Memorial GardensOakdaleOakdale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
DeLand was previously known as Persimmon Hollow for the wild persimmon trees that grow around the natural springs, and the area was originally accessible only by steamboat up the St. Johns River.
The first settler in the area was probably Ruben Marsh. He first came to Florida during the Seminole Indian War in 1841, during a scouting party that stopped at a lake area within the modern city limits, and in 1846, when the war ended, Ruben Marsh got married and moved to what is now known as DeLand. He bought a settlers claim, where he built a cabin for his family and started raising livestock.
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.
In 1876, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. DeLand’s post office opened in 1877, and the census of 1890 counted 1,113 people here.
How does DeLand rank for history?
DeLand is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #41 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 DeLand?
11 listings: 8 buildings, among them the DeLand Hall (listed 1983, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Downtown DeLand Historic District, the Stetson University Campus Historic District and the West DeLand Residential District, with 453 contributing buildings. 463 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in DeLand?
7% of DeLand’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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.
1884
1890
