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C−History
History · Laurel

Laurel’s post office opened in 1903, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #238 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Johnson Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. Most of Laurel was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1990.

1903first post office
1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Laurel began

When was Laurel founded?

1903

The Laurel post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 8,245 in 19902020 census: 12,186123 years

How historic is Laurel?

C−

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Laurel’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Laurel is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #238 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 Laurel’s overall grade.
Founding era1903, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19401.1% of homes (±1.4) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 0.9 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 19%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 63%

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 Laurel’s 0.9 sits above most of its state (72% 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 D to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 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 Laurel’s 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 Laurel are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Laurel’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Laurel’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 so far

Laurel, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Laurel yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Laurel is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,186 as of the 2020 census, up from 8,171 at the 2010 census. Laurel is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1903. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 8,171 to 12,186 (+49%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Laurel, 1903 to 1943

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903Post officeThe Laurel post office opens
  3. 1917Post officeThe Nokomis post office opens
  4. 1929Born hereVivian E. Browne is born here
  5. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Laurel on the map, 1943 to 1987

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

Laurel on the 1943 USGS mapLaurel on the 1973 USGS mapLaurel on the 1987 USGS map1943Laurel 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 Laurel.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Laurel

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
1997
Johnson Chapel Missionary Baptist Church
Johnson Chapel Missionary Baptist Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Wood Frame Vernacular1
Johnson Chapel Missionary Baptist ChurchWood Frame Vernacular

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

People over time

Laurel, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00020002020Peak: 12,186

Between 8,171 and 12,186 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Laurel’s post office has been open since 1903.

Laurel
1903–today
Nokomis
1917–today
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Laurel Villa

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.

Osprey3 historic placesCNokomis1 historic placeC+Venice13 historic placesB−

Questions about Laurel’s history

What year was Laurel founded?

The Laurel post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Laurel rank for history?

Laurel is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #238 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 Laurel?

One place: the Johnson Chapel Missionary Baptist Church (listed 1997).

How old are the homes in Laurel?

1% of Laurel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.