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C+History
History · Dunedin

Dunedin dates to 1852, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #135 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Dunedin was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1900.

1852founded
4on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
15famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dunedin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dunedin began

When was Dunedin founded?

1852

Dunedin dates its founding to 1852 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 113 in 19002020 census: 36,068174 years

How historic is Dunedin?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1878.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Dunedin’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dunedin is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #135 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 Dunedin’s overall grade.
Founding era1852, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.7% of homes (±0.6) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register4 listings, 1.1 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
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 Dunedin’s 1.1 sits above most of its state (73% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1852.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size.

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 Dunedin’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.Famous sons and daughtersDavid Jolly, Lari White and 13 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dunedin’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota Cou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

4 historic places in Dunedin

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Andrews Memorial Chapel
Andrews Memorial Chapel, built 1888J. O. Douglas HouseWillis S. Blatchley HouseDunedin Isles Golf Club Golf Course, built 1927
BuildingsSites

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Wood Frame Vernacular1
Andrews Memorial ChapelBuilt 1888
J. O. Douglas HouseVernacular
Willis S. Blatchley HouseWood Frame Vernacular
Dunedin Isles Golf Club Golf CourseBuilt 1927

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

Famous people

15 famous people were born in Dunedin

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

See all →
David JollyAmerican lobbyist and politician · b. 1972
Lari WhiteAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1965
Nadia AzziAmerican classical pianist of Lebanese-Japanese… · b. 1998
George LoweAmerican actor · b. 1958
Bobby WilsonBaseball player · b. 1983
D
Dwike MitchellAmerican pianist · b. 1930
The story

How Dunedin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dunedin.

Read it all →

Richard L. Garrison was the first person given a land grant in Dunedin in 1850. The settlement was originally named "Jonesboro" by George Jones, the owner of the area mercantile. Two Scotsmen, J.O. Douglas and James Somerville, later named the settlement Dunedin after applying for the first post office in northern Pinellas County. The name is taken from Scottish Gaelic Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic for Edinburgh. With a dock built to accommodate larger sailing vessels, Dunedin became an important trading center and at one time it had the largest fleet of sailing vessels in the state.

ChaptersDunedin and the Roebling Alligator

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dunedin, 1852 to 1998

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852
    FoundingDunedin is established
  3. 1878Post officeThe Dunedin post office opens
  4. 1888BuiltAndrews Memorial Chapel is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1927BuiltDunedin Isles Golf Club Golf Course is built
  7. 1940In the archiveFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]
  8. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1958Born hereGeorge Lowe is born here
  10. 1965Born hereLari White is born here
  11. 1972Born hereDavid Jolly is born here
  12. 1998Born hereNadia Azzi is born here
By decade

Dunedin, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s4 items
Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]1940Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]Waterfront scene1940Waterfront sceneFlorida1941FloridaFlorida1941Florida
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
On the map

Dunedin on the map, 1943 to 1998

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

Dunedin on the 1943 USGS mapDunedin on the 1974 USGS mapDunedin on the 1987 USGS mapDunedin on the 1998 USGS map1943Dunedin 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 Dunedin.

Every building

Dunedin, building by building, 1917

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Dunedin fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 11917Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]
Retake this viewFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)], 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Dunedin, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,000190019201940196019802000202036,068

Grew from 113 people in 1900 to 36,068 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Dunedin’s post office has been open since 1878.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Dunedin IslesHarbor View
Gone or out of use
Fort Harrisonmilitary
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Dunedin
DunedinDunedin Highland Memorial 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.

Clearwater8 historic placesB−Palm HarborIts storyDGreenbriarIts storyD

Questions about Dunedin’s history

What year was Dunedin founded?

In 1852, according to Wikidata. Dunedin’s post office opened in 1878, and the census of 1900 counted 113 people here.

How does Dunedin rank for history?

Dunedin is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #135 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 Dunedin?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Andrews Memorial Chapel (listed 1972, the first), and 1 site.

How old are the homes in Dunedin?

2% of Dunedin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.