The story
Read it all →How Homosassa came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Homosassa.
Homosassa is derived from a Seminole tribe Native American name meaning either "river of fishes" or "pepper ridge".
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Homosassa
Homosassa’s post office opened in 1845, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Homosassa was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Its Register listing is the Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1990.
1845first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Quick answers
How Homosassa began
When was Homosassa founded?
1845
The Homosassa post office opened in 1845, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 2,113 in 19902020 census: 2,299181 years
How historic is Homosassa?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Homosassa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Homosassa’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Homosassa is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Homosassa’s overall grade.
Founding era1845, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.7) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register1 listing, 5.1 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
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 Homosassa’s 5.1 sits above most of its state (81% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 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 Homosassa’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Homosassa’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Homosassa’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Homosassa, 1845 to 1970
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Homosassa, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1904
19041910s–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
2015
2012
2009On the map
Homosassa on the map, 1954 to 1988
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Homosassa. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Homosassa sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Homosassa.
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.
Retake this viewRed Shirt, 1904
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Homosassa’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
1 historic place in Homosassa
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
1970
Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins
Structures
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Homosassa, census by census
Between 2,113 and 2,578 people in every census since 1990.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Homosassa’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old place names
Homosassa’s post office has been open since 1845.
Homosassa
Homosassa Springs
18401930today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Homosassa’s history
What year was Homosassa founded?
The Homosassa post office opened in 1845, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Homosassa rank for history?
Homosassa is more historic than 48% 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.
What is on the National Register in Homosassa?
One place: the Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins (listed 1970).
How old are the homes in Homosassa?
0.0% of Homosassa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1988.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (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) 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.