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Skyline of Fort Lauderdale, Nov-15Photo: KeanoManu · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+History
History · Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale’s post office opened in 1891, and 17 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns · #115 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Fort Lauderdale was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. 17 places in town are on the National Register, among them the U.S. Car. No. 1, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 16 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1920.

1891first post office
17on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
16old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fort Lauderdale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fort Lauderdale began

When was Fort Lauderdale founded?

1891

The Fort Lauderdale post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1911. Another post office, Floranada (1926), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 2,065 in 19202020 census: 182,760135 years

How historic is Fort Lauderdale?

C+

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Fort Lauderdale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1911.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Fort Lauderdale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fort Lauderdale is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #115 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 Fort Lauderdale’s overall grade.
Founding era1891, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.5% of homes (±0.3) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register17 listings, 19 historic buildings, 1.0 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 39%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 82%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Fort Lauderdale ranks #273 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 Fort Lauderdale’s 1.0 sits above most of its state (72% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 19 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Fort Lauderdale’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 C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1911.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Fort Lauderdale’s past

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

A National Historic Landmark17 places on the National Register, including U.S. Car. No. 1, a National Historic Landmark.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Fort Lauderdale, and 30 old place names are still on the map.A town in postcards16 old photos, postcards and papers, 1930–1970.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1912 to 1924, drew every building in Fort Lauderdale.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

17 historic places in Fort Lauderdale

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
17
National Historic Landmark
1
U.S. Car. No. 1
historic buildings protected
19
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
New River Inn
New River InnStranahan HouseBonnet HouseDillard High School, OldSt. Anthony School, built 1926Bryan Building, built 1913Sam Gilliam HouseCroissant Park Administration BuildingWilliams HouseDr. Willard Van Orsdel King HouseSouth Side School, built 1922Thorpe, Alfred and Olive, Lustron House, built 1950West Side Grade School, OldNorth Woodlawn CemeteryFort Lauderdale Woman's ClubU.S. Car. No. 1★
BuildingsSitesObjects★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Masonry Vernacular4
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals4
Mediterranean Revival3
Mission1
Spanish Colonial Revival1
Prairie Style1
★ Landmark
U.S. Car. No. 1Object
New River InnBuilding
Stranahan HouseBuilding
Bonnet HouseBuilding
Dillard High School, OldMasonry Vernacular
St. Anthony SchoolLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals · Built 1926
Bryan BuildingMasonry Vernacular · Built 1913
Sam Gilliam HouseLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
All 17 listings
Croissant Park Administration BuildingBuilding · listed 2001Williams HouseBuilding · listed 2005Dr. Willard Van Orsdel King HouseBuilding · listed 2006South Side SchoolBuilding · listed 2006Thorpe, Alfred and Olive, Lustron HouseBuilding · listed 2007West Side Grade School, OldBuilding · listed 2012North Woodlawn CemeterySite · listed 2017Fort Lauderdale Woman's ClubBuilding · listed 2019RivermontSite · listed 2022

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 and burying grounds

Fort Lauderdale’s post office has been open since 1891. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fort Lauderdale
1891–today
Floranada
1926–1929
Gateway
1951–1952
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Azalea Trailer Colony Mobile Home ParkBay HarborBirch Ocean FrontChula Vista IslesCoral HillsCoral RidgeCoral Ridge IslesCypress Creek Mobile Home Country ClubFlamingo VillageFloridale Mobile Home ColonyHarbor BeachHarbor HeightsHolland Mobile Home ParkImperial PointLauder Lakes Mobile HomesLauderdale HarborsMelrose ParkMiddle River VistaNorth Bal HarborNurmi IslesPalm AirePan American Estates Mobile Home ParkPort EvergladesRio Vista Isles
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fort Lauderdale
EvergreenLauderdale Memorial ParkSunset Memorial Gardens

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

By decade

Fort Lauderdale, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1940s6 items
Himmarshee Canal, amidst tropical setting near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, by Tichnor Brothers, c. 1930-1945, from the Dig…1930–1945Himmarshee Canal, amidst tropical setting near Ft. La…PostcardAndrews Avenue Looking North Vintage Postcard1940sAndrews Avenue Looking North Vintage PostcardPostcardView showing boats docked at the Marina Americana near the Pier 66 hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida1940View showing boats docked at the Marina Americana nea…Lauderdale Beach Hotel on the Ocean Front, Fort Lauderdale - Postcard Verso1941Lauderdale Beach Hotel on the Ocean Front, Fort Laude…PostcardLauderdale Beach Hotel on the Ocean Front, Fort Lauderdale - Postcard1941Lauderdale Beach Hotel on the Ocean Front, Fort Laude…PostcardRPPC Andrews Avec. 1944RPPC Andrews Ave
1950s–1960s8 items
Fort Ft Lauderdale Sea Ranch Motel1950sFort Ft Lauderdale Sea Ranch MotelPostcardOcean world1950sOcean worldFarmer Eng and his vegetables1957Farmer Eng and his vegetablesPatricia Murphy in the garden of her Candlelight Restaurant in1960Patricia Murphy in the garden of her Candlelight Rest…PostcardWPOM postcard c19611961WPOM postcard c1961PostcardFort Lauderdale North USGS Map 19621962Fort Lauderdale North USGS Map 1962MapRetirees at the trailer park1963Retirees at the trailer parkPine Crest School students posing for a group portrait1967Pine Crest School students posing for a group portrait
1970s2 items
Pine Crest School students in a music class1970Pine Crest School students in a music classPine Crest School students kayaking1970Pine Crest School students kayaking
1980s–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
The story

How Fort Lauderdale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fort Lauderdale.

Read it all →

The area of present-day Fort Lauderdale was inhabited for at least 2,000 years by Indigenous peoples associated with the Tequesta culture. Contact with Spanish explorers in the 16th century contributed to the decline of Native populations in South Florida through the introduction of Eurasian diseases, including smallpox, to which Indigenous communities had little immunity. Disease, warfare, and regional displacement contributed to the decline of the Tequesta and neighboring peoples over the following two centuries. The area was then incorporated within the Spanish Empire during the 16th century.

Chapters18th century19th century20th centuryPopulation

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fort Lauderdale, 1891 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Fort Lauderdale post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1913BuiltBryan Building is built
  5. 1922BuiltSouth Side School is built
  6. 1926BuiltSt. Anthony School is built
  7. 1926Post officeThe Floranada post office opens
  8. 1929Post officeThe Floranada post office closes
  9. 1930In the archiveHimmarshee Canal, amidst tropical setting near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, by Tichnor Brothe…
  10. 1940In the archiveAndrews Avenue Looking North Vintage Postcard
  11. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1950BuiltThorpe, Alfred and Olive, Lustron House is built
  13. 1950In the archiveFort Ft Lauderdale Sea Ranch Motel
  14. 1951Post officeThe Gateway post office opens
  15. 1952Post officeThe Gateway post office closes
  16. 1960In the archivePatricia Murphy in the garden of her Candlelight Restaurant in
  17. 1970In the archivePine Crest School students in a music class
  18. 1985LandmarkU.S. Car. No. 1 named a National Historic Landmark
On the map

Fort Lauderdale on the map, 1949 to 1983

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

Fort Lauderdale on the 1949 USGS mapFort Lauderdale on the 1962 USGS mapFort Lauderdale on the 1970 USGS mapFort Lauderdale on the 1983 USGS map1949Fort Lauderdale South 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 Fort Lauderdale.

Every building

Fort Lauderdale, building by building, 1912–1924

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.

Fort Lauderdale fire insurance map, 1912, sheet 11912Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
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.

Himmarshee Canal, amidst tropical setting near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, by Tichnor Brothers, c. 1930-1945, from the Dig…
Retake this viewHimmarshee Canal, amidst tropical setting near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, by Tichnor Brothers, c. 1930-1945, from the Dig…, 1930–1945

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Fort Lauderdale, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,000160,000180,000200,000192019401960198020002020182,760

Grew from 2,065 people in 1920 to 182,760 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Fort Lauderdale’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
5 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHimmarshee Canal, amidst tropical setti…: 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.

Oakland Park2 historic placesBWilton ManorsIts storyCPompano Beach3 historic placesCDania Beach1 historic placeCTamaracIts storyD−North LauderdaleIts storyD−Davie3 historic placesC−PlantationIts storyD−Hollywood5 historic placesCRoosevelt GardensIts storyD

Questions about Fort Lauderdale’s history

What year was Fort Lauderdale founded?

The Fort Lauderdale post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1911.

How does Fort Lauderdale rank for history?

Fort Lauderdale is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #115 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 Fort Lauderdale?

17 listings: 14 buildings, among them the New River Inn (listed 1972, the first), 2 sites, and 1 object. 19 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Fort Lauderdale?

2% of Fort Lauderdale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (16), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (17), Wikipedia, 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.