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B+History
History · Eustis

Eustis dates to 1825, and 10 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #25 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Eustis was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. 10 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 28 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1900.

1825founded
10on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
13famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Eustis’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Eustis began

When was Eustis founded?

1825

Eustis dates its founding to 1825 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 411 in 19002020 census: 23,189201 years

How historic is Eustis?

B+

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Eustis’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eustis is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #25 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 Eustis’ overall grade.
Founding era1825, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.2% of homes (±1.4) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register10 listings, 38 historic buildings, 15.8 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 74%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 96%

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 Eustis’ 15.8 sits above most of its state (87% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 38 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1825.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Eustis’ past

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

Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1950 and 1970, then grew more than tenfold.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1890 to 1922, drew every building in Eustis.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Eustis, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register10 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · People over time

Eustis, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00019001920194019601980200020204,005 in 1950Low: 2,081

Lost half of its people between 1950 and 1970, then grew more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Every building

Eustis, building by building, 1890–1922

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 year, then a sheet.

Eustis fire insurance map, 1890, sheet 11890Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Eustis’s post office has been open since 1883. Another post office, Fort Mason, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fort Mason
1872–1895
Eustis
1883–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Fort MasonHaselton Village Mobile Home ParkMount HomerSharp's Mobile Park
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Eustis
GreenwoodMarsh Memorial ParkOld Fort Mason

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

The story

How Eustis came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eustis.

Read it all →

Eustis is one of several towns in Lake County that trace their origins to the 1870s, a post-Civil War era when settlers moved southward into the Florida frontier. The city is named after then Colonel Abraham Eustis, a U.S. Army officer who served during the Seminole Wars and skirmished along the south shore of what is now Lake Eustis, near Tavares.

ChaptersEarly settlement and founding (1825–1870s)Railroad and incorporation (1880s)Citrus boom and the Great Freeze (1890s)Early 1900s–Great Depression (1900–1930s)21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Eustis, 1825 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1825
    FoundingEustis is established
  3. 1872Post officeThe Fort Mason post office opens
  4. 1880In the archiveBay Street
  5. 1883Post officeThe Eustis post office opens
  6. 1895Post officeThe Fort Mason post office closes
  7. 1898In the archiveClub Houses, New Ocklawaha Hotel Golf Grounds, Eustis, Fla
  8. 20th century
  9. 1919In the archiveTemperance parade
  10. 1940In the archiveFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]
  11. 1964Born hereKenny Green is born here
  12. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1984Born hereSolomon Jones is born here
  14. 1986Born hereJonathan Lucroy is born here
  15. 21st century
  16. 2000Born hereKeon Ellis is born here
  17. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 23,189
By decade

Eustis, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1910s5 items
Bay Street1880Bay StreetBay Street, Eustis, Floridac. 1880Bay Street, Eustis, FloridaClub Houses, New Ocklawaha Hotel Golf Grounds, Eustis, Fla1898Club Houses, New Ocklawaha Hotel Golf Grounds, Eustis…Corner of Rose Garden, New Ocklawaha Hotel1898Corner of Rose Garden, New Ocklawaha HotelTemperance paradec. 1919Temperance parade
1940s5 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)]Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]1940Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]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
On the map

Eustis on the map, 1966 to 1980

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

Eustis on the 1966 USGS mapEustis on the 1980 USGS map1966Eustis 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 Eustis.

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.

Bay Street
Retake this viewBay Street, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

10 listings protect 38 historic buildings

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

places listed
10
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
38
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Clifford House
Clifford HouseWilliam Kimbrough Pendleton HouseWoman's Club of EustisFerran Park and the Alice McClelland Memorial BandshellGould Hyde Norton HouseMoses J. Taylor HousePurdy VillaEustis Commercial Historic DistrictLaroe Family Homestead Historic DistrictEdgar L. Ferran House
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical3
Italianate3
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals2
Late Victorian2
Queen Anne1
Classical Revival1
Clifford HouseNeo-Classical
William Kimbrough Pendleton HouseQueen Anne
Woman's Club of EustisLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Ferran Park and the Alice McClelland Memorial BandshellLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Gould Hyde Norton HouseLate Victorian
Moses J. Taylor HouseLate Victorian
Purdy VillaFrame Vernacular
Eustis Commercial Historic DistrictCommercial One and Two-Part Block
All 10 listings
Laroe Family Homestead Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009Edgar L. Ferran HouseBuilding · listed 2019

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

Famous people

13 famous people were born in Eustis

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

See all →
Solomon JonesAmerican basketball player · b. 1984
Keon EllisAmerican basketball player · b. 2000
J
Jonathan LucroyBaseball player from the United States · b. 1986
K
Kenny GreenAmerican basketball player · b. 1964
Carey BakerAmerican politician · b. 1963
Mark KolozsvaryAmerican baseball player · b. 1995
Help out

Finish Eustis’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBay Street: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Tavares2 historic placesCMount Dora5 historic placesB

Questions about Eustis’ history

What year was Eustis founded?

In 1825, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Eustis’ post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1900 counted 411 people here.

How does Eustis rank for history?

Eustis is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #25 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 Eustis?

10 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Clifford House (listed 1975, the first), 2 historic districts, the Eustis Commercial Historic District and the Laroe Family Homestead Historic District, with 28 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 38 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Eustis?

5% of Eustis’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1986.

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 (10), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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.