Half of Jan Phyl Village’s homes were built after 1979
More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #368 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Jan Phyl Village was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1970.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jan Phyl Village is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #368 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jan Phyl Village’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 Jan Phyl Village’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Jan Phyl Village’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Jan Phyl Village was formed from a purchase in 1950 of 1,200 acres of land west of Winter Haven, purchased by Harry Lesnick of Vermont. He christened the area Jan Phyl Village after his daughters, Janet and Phyllis Lesnick. Most of the early development was real estate, sold to airmen and pilot instructors stationed at the nearby Bartow Air Base during the Korean War. The area suffered its first recession in 1953 at the cessation of U.S. military activity in Korea, leading to many homes being foreclosed. The area remains economically depressed as of 2014, with many closed storefronts. If a proposed transportation improvement program planned by the Polk Transportation Planning Organization is approved, major thoroughfares in the area will be widened by 2030 to accommodate additional traffic.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Jan Phyl Village. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1944Auburndale 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 Jan Phyl Village.
People over time
Jan Phyl Village, census by census
Grew from 1,340 people in 1970 to 5,927 in 2020, 4 times over.
5 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Jan Phyl Village’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Jan Phyl Village is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #368 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 Jan Phyl Village?
0.5% of Jan Phyl Village’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
