More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #282 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Gibsonton was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1990.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1912.
History grade
What drives Gibsonton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gibsonton is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #282 of 638 in Florida. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gibsonton’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 Gibsonton’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1884.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 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 Gibsonton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Gibsonton’s post office has been open since 1926. Another post office, Gardenville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Gardenville
1912–1925
Gibsonton
1926–today
19101970today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AdamsvilleAlafia River EstatesAlafia ShoresAlavistaAllendale AcresAllensAlpineBrandwoodBullfrog Creek EstatesBullfrog Creek LandingCarriage PointeCountry Haven on Bullfrog CreekEagle WatchEast Bay LakesGarden CityGardenvilleGibsonton on the BayKanawha TerraceKey West LandingsKings LakeMacKinlay TerraceMagnolia BeachMagnolia TrailsMarquard Manor
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Gibsonton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gibsonton’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gibsonton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1921Tampa 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 Gibsonton.
The story so far
Gibsonton, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Gibsonton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Gibsonton, sometimes nicknamed Gibtown, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. U.S. Route 41 runs through the center of the community. The population was 18,566 at the 2020 census, up from 14,234 at the 2010 census. Gibsonton was famous as a sideshow wintering town, where various people in the carnival and circus businesses would spend the off season, placing it near the winter home for the Ringling Brothers Circus at Tampa, Sarasota and Venice in various times. It was home to Percilla the Monkey Girl, the Anatomical Wonder, and the Lobster Boy. Siamese twin sisters ran a fruit stand here. At one time, it was the only post …
Gibsonton was established in 1884. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 14,234 to 18,566 (+30%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Gibsonton, 1884 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1884, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gibsonton’s post office opened in 1912, and the census of 1990 counted 7,706 people here.
How does Gibsonton rank for history?
Gibsonton is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #282 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 Gibsonton?
0.5% of Gibsonton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.
2018
