The Holley post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Harper (1907), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,484133 years
How historic is Holley?
D
More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Holley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Holley’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Holley is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Holley’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 Holley’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 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 Holley’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Holley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1921Holley 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 Holley.
The story so far
Holley, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Holley yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Holley is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States. Its population was 2,484 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Pensacola—Ferry Pass—Brent, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Florida State Road 87 passes through the community. For almost all cases, the community of Holley, is considered to be a neighborhood or character area of the larger community of Navarre, Florida. This includes the community of Holley being included in the federally designated Holley-Navarre Census County Division, being served by the Holley-Navarre Fire District and Holley-Navarre Water System, and being included in the county election precinct excl…
Its first post office opened in 1893. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,630 to 2,484 (+52%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Holley, 1893 to 1961
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Holley post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Holley rank for history?
Holley is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns. 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 Holley?
0.0% of Holley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 2007.
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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
