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D−History
History · Land O' Lakes

Land O' Lakes’ post office opened in 1950

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns · #617 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Land O' Lakes was built recently: 0.1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1980.

1950first post office
0on the National Register
0.1%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Land O' Lakes began

When was Land O' Lakes founded?

1950

The Land O' Lakes post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 4,515 in 19802020 census: 35,92976 years

How historic is Land O' Lakes?

D−

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Land O' Lakes’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Land O' Lakes is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #617 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Land O' Lakes’ overall grade.
Founding era1950, from the first post office: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.1% of homes (±0.2) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical FL town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 2%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 3%

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 Land O' Lakes’ 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 D. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 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 Land O' Lakes’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Land O' Lakes are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Land O' Lakes’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Land O' Lakes’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Land O' Lakes came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Land O' Lakes.

Read it all →

The land that is now Land O' Lakes was taken from its Native American inhabitants in the 1830s as part of the Second Seminole War. By the 1840s, a stage coach line ran through the center of where the CDP is now located. Eventually, by the early 1900s, a railroad line ran through the CDP and a station was built.

Throughout the 20th century, Land O' Lakes expanded and absorbed surrounding communities such as Denham, Ehren, and Gowers Corner.

Dupree Gardens, one of Florida's original roadside tourist attractions, was located in what is now known as Land O' Lakes. The name Land O' Lakes was suggested and thought of in 1949. On September 1950, the community was renamed Land O' Lakes.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Land O' Lakes, 1943 to 1988

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1950Post officeThe Land O Lakes post office opens
  4. 1970Born hereLouellen Poore is born here
  5. 1985Born hereStacy Bishop is born here
  6. 1988Born hereKevin Quackenbush is born here
By decade

Land O' Lakes, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Dupree Gardens ruins2012Dupree Gardens ruinsCypress Creek Preserve2011Cypress Creek PreserveCypress Creek Preserve pond2011Cypress Creek Preserve pondRestored Dupree Gardens Waterfall2010Restored Dupree Gardens WaterfallLand O' Lakes, Florida from hot air balloon2009Land O' Lakes, Florida from hot air balloonLand O' Lakes, Florida from hot air balloon 22009Land O' Lakes, Florida from hot air balloon 2Road2008Road1973 Ford C-900-220081973 Ford C-900-21973 Ford C-900-120081973 Ford C-900-1Road of Trees2007Road of TreesHappy Holidays2006Happy HolidaysLakeside Trees - panoramio (1)2004Lakeside Trees - panoramio (1)
On the map

Land O' Lakes on the map, 1943 to 1999

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

Land O' Lakes on the 1943 USGS mapLand O' Lakes on the 1974 USGS mapLand O' Lakes on the 1987 USGS mapLand O' Lakes on the 1999 USGS map1943Lutz 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 Land O' Lakes.

People over time

Land O' Lakes, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00019802000202035,929

Grew from 4,515 people in 1980 to 35,929 in 2020, 7 times over.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Land O' Lakes’ Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Land O' Lakes

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

See all →
Kevin QuackenbushAmerican baseball player · b. 1988
S
Stacy BishopAmerican soccer player · b. 1985
L
Louellen PooreAmerican soccer player · b. 1970
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Dupree Gardens

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.

Lutz1 historic placeC−Wesley ChapelIts storyD

Questions about Land O' Lakes’ history

What year was Land O' Lakes founded?

The Land O' Lakes post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Land O' Lakes rank for history?

Land O' Lakes is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #617 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 Land O' Lakes?

0.1% of Land O' Lakes’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1999.

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 (12), 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.