More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #277 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Eagle Lake was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1930.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Eagle Lake’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eagle Lake is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #277 of 638 in Florida. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Eagle Lake’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 Eagle Lake’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1880.
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 Eagle Lake’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1880, Eagle Lake was first settled when John Bingham purchased 160 acres on a knoll between the areas now known as Eagle Lake, Lake McLeod, and Spirit Lake. He named the lake and community "Eagle Lake", because he saw an eagle that was nesting in a nearby pine tree by the lake, from the viewpoint of the log cabin he built. When he sold his land in 1887, it was platted as a community that same year.
On October 1921, the "Town of Eagle Lake" was officially incorporated as a municipality, and was later reincorporated as the City of Eagle Lake on November 1975.
In 1880, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1930 counted 600 people here.
How does Eagle Lake rank for history?
Eagle Lake is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #277 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 Eagle Lake?
0.6% of Eagle Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1989.
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, 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.
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