Gainesville dates to 1853, and 44 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 53% of U.S. towns · #63 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Gainesville was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 44 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 606 buildings between them. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gainesville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gainesville is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #63 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 Gainesville’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Gainesville ranks #230 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 Gainesville’s 44.9 sits above most of its state (91% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 654 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Gainesville’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 (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1853.
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 Gainesville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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, places now gone and burying grounds
Gainesville’s post office has been open since 1856. Another post office, Paradise, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Gainesville
1856–today
Paradise
1885–1908
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Alachua IIAlamar Gardens Mobile Home ParkBeville HeightsCandlelight Estates Mobile Home CommunityDaysvilleDurant EstatesIdeal Trailer ParkLincoln EstatesNorthwoodParadiseRobinswoodShadow Lawn EstatesSuburban HeightsVarsity Mobile Home VillaWimberly Estates
Gone or out of use
Alachua Army Air FieldmilitaryBible ChapelchurchBuchholz Junior High SchoolschoolGainesville Correctional InstitutionbuildingKirby-Smith SchoolschoolUmbarger ChurchchurchUniversity Churchchurch
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gainesville
EvergreenForest MeadowsMorning StarMount PleasantPine Grove
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
There is archeological evidence, from about 12,000 years ago, of the presence of Paleo-Indians in the Gainesville area, although it is not known if there were any permanent settlements. A Deptford culture campsite existed in Gainesville and was estimated to have been used between 500 BCE and 100 CE. The Deptford people moved south into Paynes Prairie and Orange Lake during the first century and evolved into the Cades Pond culture. The Deptford people who remained in the Gainesville area were displaced by migrants from southern Georgia sometime in the seventh century. These migrants evolved into the Alachua culture and they built their burial mound on top of the Deptford culture campsite. When Europeans made first contact in the area, the Potano lived in the area. They were descendants of the Alachua culture people. European contact diminished the numbers of native peoples (through disea…
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gainesville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1890Arredondo sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gainesville.
Every building
Gainesville, building by building, 1884–1922
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.
In 1853, according to Wikidata. Gainesville’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1890 counted 2,790 people here.
How does Gainesville rank for history?
Gainesville is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #63 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 Gainesville?
44 listings: 40 buildings, among them the Maj. James B. Bailey House (listed 1972, the first), and 4 historic districts with 606 contributing buildings. 654 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Gainesville?
3% of Gainesville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (26), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (44), 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.
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