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C−History
History · Hialeah

Hialeah’s post office opened in 1921, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #228 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Hialeah was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Its Register listings are the Hialeah Park Race Track and the Hialeah Seaboard Air Line Railway Station. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1930.

1921first post office
2on the National Register
0.9%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
32famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hialeah’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hialeah began

When was Hialeah founded?

1921

The Hialeah post office opened in 1921, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,600 in 19302020 census: 223,109105 years

How historic is Hialeah?

C−

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Hialeah’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hialeah is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #228 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hialeah’s overall grade.
Founding era1921, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.9% of homes (±0.3) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 0.1 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 64%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Hialeah ranks #342 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 Hialeah’s 0.1 sits above most of its state (67% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Hialeah’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 D to C. 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.

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 Hialeah’s past

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

Lost villages14 hamlets and corners are still on the map.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1921–1958.Famous sons and daughtersNeil Covone, Chris Cavanaugh and 30 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Old corners

Hialeah’s post office has been open since 1921.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Acres O Sun Trailer ParkAnchor Mobile Home ParkHialeah EstatesHialeah Trailer ParkHibiscus Mobile HomesHibiscus Trailer ParkHoliday AcresHoliday Acres Mobile Home ParkPalm SpringsPalm Springs EstatesStrawberry Village Trailer ParkSun-Tan VillageSunny Gardens Trailer ParkWynken Blynken and Nod Trailer Park

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

By decade

Hialeah, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s6 items
Downtown Hialeah 19211921Downtown Hialeah 1921Everglades real estate tour buses1921Everglades real estate tour busesIntersection of Palm Avenue and County Road in 19211921Intersection of Palm Avenue and County Road in 1921Miami Canal in 1921c. 1921Miami Canal in 1921Projection of Hialeah in 19221922Projection of Hialeah in 1922Construction of the Hialeah Park horse racing grandstand1924Construction of the Hialeah Park horse racing grandst…
1930s6 items
Western Union building inc. 1930Western Union building inDerby Day, March 7th, 19311931Derby Day, March 7th, 1931Front view1936Front viewBeautiful Hialeah Park, Fla., 1937, Miami Jockey Club1937Beautiful Hialeah Park, Fla., 1937, Miami Jockey ClubHialeah Park, 1930sc. 1938Hialeah Park, 1930sHialeah Park, Fla., the world's greatest race course, Miami Jockey Club1938Hialeah Park, Fla., the world's greatest race course,…
1940s–1950s6 items
Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…M5, View of the Walking Ring, Hialeah Race Course (NBY 5164)1951M5, View of the Walking Ring, Hialeah Race Course (NB…Mr. & Mrs. John Payson Adams with Cortright Wetherill at the Hialeah Racetrack. - BM003121958Mr. & Mrs. John Payson Adams with Cortright Wetherill…Muriel Vanderbilt Adams at the Hialeah Racetrack 1958 - BM003121958Muriel Vanderbilt Adams at the Hialeah Racetrack 1958…
1960s–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
Famous people

32 famous people were born in Hialeah

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

See all →
N
Neil CovoneAmerican soccer player · b. 1969
Chris CavanaughAmerican swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world … · b. 1962
Gio GonzalezAmerican baseball player · b. 1985
Alex AvilaProfessional baseball player for the Arizona Di… · b. 1987
S
Steven TaylorAmerican cricketer · b. 1993
A
Agustin AnelloAmerican soccer player · b. 2002
The story

How Hialeah came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hialeah.

Read it all →

The city's name is most commonly attributed to Muskogee origin, "Haiyakpo" (prairie) and "hili" (pretty) combining in "Hialeah" to mean "pretty prairie". Alternatively, the word is of Seminole origin meaning "Upland Prairie". The city is located upon a large prairie between Biscayne Bay and the Everglades.

This "high prairie" caught the eye of pioneer aviator Glenn Curtiss and Missouri cattleman James H. Bright in 1921. Together, they developed not only the town of Hialeah but also Hialeah Park Race Track. In 1921, the first plat was drawn up, and the town was named.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hialeah, 1921 to 1987

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1921In the archiveDowntown Hialeah 1921
  3. 1921Post officeThe Hialeah post office opens
  4. 1930In the archiveWestern Union building in
  5. 1940In the archiveConnecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District o…
  6. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1951In the archiveM5, View of the Walking Ring, Hialeah Race Course (NBY 5164)
  8. 1962Born hereChris Cavanaugh is born here
  9. 1969Born hereNeil Covone is born here
  10. 1985Born hereGio Gonzalez is born here
  11. 1987Born hereAlex Avila is born here
On the map

Hialeah on the map, 1950 to 1994

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

Hialeah on the 1950 USGS mapHialeah on the 1962 USGS mapHialeah on the 1988 USGS mapHialeah on the 1994 USGS map1950Hialeah 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 Hialeah.

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.

Downtown Hialeah 1921
Retake this viewDowntown Hialeah 1921, 1921

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Hialeah

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Hialeah Park Race Track
Hialeah Park Race TrackHialeah Seaboard Air Line Railway Station
BuildingsSites

Architectural styles listings

Renaissance Revival1
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Mission1
Spanish Colonial Revival1
Hialeah Park Race TrackRenaissance Revival
Hialeah Seaboard Air Line Railway StationLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals

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

People over time

Hialeah, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,000160,000180,000200,000220,000240,00019401960198020002020Peak: 226,419

Between 2,600 and 226,419 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Hialeah’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDowntown Hialeah 1921: 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.

Miami LakesIts storyD−Hialeah GardensIts storyD−Miami Springs7 historic placesCBrownsville2 historic placesB+WestviewIts storyDWest Little RiverIts storyC−Opa-locka19 historic placesC

Questions about Hialeah’s history

What year was Hialeah founded?

The Hialeah post office opened in 1921, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Hialeah rank for history?

Hialeah is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #228 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 Hialeah?

Two places: the Hialeah Park Race Track (listed 1979) and the Hialeah Seaboard Air Line Railway Station (1995).

How old are the homes in Hialeah?

0.9% of Hialeah’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (14), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.