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D−History
History · Deltona

Deltona dates to 1962

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns · #598 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Deltona was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1970.

1962founded
0on the National Register
0.3%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Connor J. Williams · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Deltona began

When was Deltona founded?

1962

Deltona dates its founding to 1962 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 4,868 in 19702020 census: 93,69264 years

How historic is Deltona?

D−

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Deltona’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Deltona is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #598 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Deltona’s overall grade.
Founding era1962, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.3% of homes (±0.2) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational 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 2%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 6%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Deltona ranks #389 on History.

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 Deltona’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.

Newer cities are common at Deltona’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1962.

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 Deltona’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Deltona are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Deltona’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Deltona came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Deltona.

Read it all →

The area of current Deltona and surrounding communities was originally inhabited by nomadic Timucuans, who found fish and fresh water to be plentiful in the area. After Florida became a state in 1845, steamboats began to make regular trips up the St. Johns River to Lake Monroe. George Sauls, a former secret agent for the Confederacy during the American Civil War, along with his wife Adeline and six children, were the first settlers in the area in 1859. The area was located approximately three miles (4.8 km) north of the community of Osteen. Sauls' homestead caught fire in 1972, but it would eventually be designated as a historical site by the Volusia County Historical Commission, and the street, originally named Barranca, was renamed George Sauls Street in 1977. It was decommissioned as a historical site in 2000, and its site marker has since been relocated to the nearby Osteen Cemetery…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Deltona, 1962 to 1996

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1962
    FoundingDeltona is established
  3. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1987Born hereThomas Welch is born here
  5. 1992Born hereMontana DuRapau is born here
  6. 1996Born hereChad Brown is born here
By decade

Deltona, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Campaign signs in Deltona, Florida (cropped)2024Campaign signs in Deltona, Florida (cropped)View of Lake Dupont with road visible2023View of Lake Dupont with road visibleView of Lake Dupont from the Southwest2023View of Lake Dupont from the SouthwestDeltonaFLCityHallJan20182018DeltonaFLCityHallJan2018Saxon Blvd WB I4WB on ramp2017Saxon Blvd WB I4WB on rampSaxon Blvd EB I4WB on ramp2017Saxon Blvd EB I4WB on rampFlorida I4eb W Saxon Blvd Overpass2017Florida I4eb W Saxon Blvd OverpassFlorida I4eb W Enterprise Rd Overpass2017Florida I4eb W Enterprise Rd OverpassFlorida I4eb Exit 111B2017Florida I4eb Exit 111BFlorida I4eb Exit 108 1 mile2017Florida I4eb Exit 108 1 mileDeltona Middle School2017Deltona Middle SchoolDeltonaCityHall28Mar20152015DeltonaCityHall28Mar2015DeltonaCityHall09Apr20152015DeltonaCityHall09Apr2015Flag of2014Flag ofDeltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL, FL, USA - panoramio (9)2014Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL, FL, USA - pan…Deltona Urbanized Urbanized Area Map2012Deltona Urbanized Urbanized Area MapBookDeltonaflua2007DeltonafluaFLMap-doton-Deltona2004FLMap-doton-Deltona
On the map

Deltona on the map, 1964 to 1980

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

Deltona on the 1964 USGS mapDeltona on the 1970 USGS mapDeltona on the 1980 USGS map1964Orange City 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 Deltona.

People over time

Deltona, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,00019802000202093,692

Grew from 4,868 people in 1970 to 93,692 in 2020, more than tenfold.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Deltona

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

See all →
C
Chad BrownAmerican basketball player · b. 1996
T
Thomas WelchAmerican football player · b. 1987
Montana DuRapauAmerican baseball player · b. 1992
Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Deltona
Deltona Memorial GardensGarfield SettlementOsteen Memorial Gardens

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.

Orange City5 historic placesB−DeBary1 historic placeDDeLand11 historic placesB

Questions about Deltona’s history

What year was Deltona founded?

In 1962, according to Wikidata. the census of 1970 counted 4,868 people here.

How does Deltona rank for history?

Deltona is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #598 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 Deltona?

0.3% of Deltona’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1988.

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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.