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History · Hastings

Hastings dates to 1890, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Hastings was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Its Register listing is the Hastings High School. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1910.

1890founded
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hastings’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hastings began

When was Hastings founded?

1890

Hastings dates its founding to 1890 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 399 in 19102020 census: 1,262136 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1891.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hastings’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1940 and 2000, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hastings’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hastings’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota Cou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Hastings, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001920194019601980200020201,035 in 1940Low: 521

Lost half of its people between 1940 and 2000, then more than doubled.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Hastings came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hastings.

Read it all →

Henry Morrison Flagler built tourist hotels at St. Augustine in the late 19th century, including the Ponce de León Hotel. He needed a local source of fresh vegetables for his guests, so he persuaded Thomas Horace Hastings, his cousin, to develop a farm. A small community evolved into a town, which was named for its founder in 1890. Hastings is known as the "Potato Capital of Florida", with 21,000 acres (85 km2) of potato farms, but it also produces cabbage, onions, eggplant, and ornamental horticulture.

Hastings in 1910 was a thriving town that was a stop on the Florida East Coast Railway. The population of approximately 1,200 people supported several general stores, a bakery, drug stores, meat markets, an ice plant, and cold storage.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hastings, 1890 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890
    FoundingHastings is established
  3. 1891Post officeThe Hastings post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1911Born hereElmer Ray is born here
  6. 1924BuiltHastings High School is built
  7. 1933Born hereRon Waller is born here
  8. 1940In the archiveFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]
  9. 1956Born hereDerrick Ramsey is born here
  10. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1985In the archiveBuck Thompson playing blues guitar outside of his house
  12. 1997Born hereZack Bryant is born here
  13. 21st century
  14. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,262
By decade

Hastings, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1940s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s2 items
Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]1940Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]John F. Tenney supervises a conveyor belt of potatoes1947John F. Tenney supervises a conveyor belt of potatoes
1950s–1970snothing 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
1980s2 items
Buck Thompson playing blues guitar outside of his house1985Buck Thompson playing blues guitar outside of his hou…Farm workers packing cabbage into crates1985Farm workers packing cabbage into crates
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
Today2 recent
Hastings history marker012007Hastings history marker01FLMap-doton-Hastings2004FLMap-doton-Hastings
On the map

Hastings on the map, 1968 to 1988

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

Hastings on the 1968 USGS mapHastings on the 1988 USGS map1968Hastings 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 Hastings.

Every building

Hastings, building by building, 1921

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 sheet.

Hastings fire insurance map, 1921, sheet 11921Sheet 1 of 4
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.

Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]
Retake this viewFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)], 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Hastings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2006
Hastings High School
Hastings High School, built 1924
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals1
Mediterranean Revival1
Hastings High SchoolLate 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals · Built 1924

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Hastings

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

See all →
D
Derrick RamseyAmerican football player · b. 1956
R
Ron WallerAmerican football player · b. 1933
Zack BryantAmerican basketball player · b. 1997
E
Elmer RayAmerican boxer · b. 1911
Willie Harvey Jr.American football linebacker · b. 1996

Questions about Hastings’ history

What year was Hastings founded?

In 1890, according to Wikidata. Hastings’ post office opened in 1891, and the census of 1910 counted 399 people here.

What is on the National Register in Hastings?

One place: the Hastings High School (listed 2006).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.