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C+History
History · Maitland

Maitland dates to 1872, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #121 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Maitland was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1900.

1872founded
5on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Maitland began

When was Maitland founded?

1872

Maitland dates its founding to 1872 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 136 in 19002020 census: 19,543154 years

How historic is Maitland?

C+

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Maitland’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Maitland is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #121 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Maitland’s overall grade.
Founding era1872, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.0% of homes (±0.8) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register5 listings, 9 historic buildings, 4.6 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 38%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 81%

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 Maitland’s 4.6 sits above most of its state (81% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1872.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Maitland’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 Maitland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark5 places on the National Register, including Research Studio (Maitland Art Center), a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Maitland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Maitland’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
On the National Register

5 historic places in Maitland

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmark
1
The Research Studio (Maitland Art Center)
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Maitland Art Center
Maitland Art CenterWilliam H. Waterhouse HouseChurch of the Good ShepherdSiegmund and Marilyn Goldman House, built 1965
Buildings★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Frame Vernacular1
Gothic Revival1
Maitland Art CenterBuilding
William H. Waterhouse HouseFrame Vernacular
Church of the Good ShepherdGothic Revival
Siegmund and Marilyn Goldman HouseBuilt 1965
All 5 listings
The Research Studio (Maitland Art Center)Building · listed 2014

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

The story

How Maitland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Maitland.

Read it all →

Maitland is one of the oldest incorporated suburban municipalities in central Florida. The area was previously inhabited by Timucuan Native Americans. The town was originally named for a nearby Lake, which honored Captain William Seton Maitland, who fought in the Second Seminole Indian War, and was slain in the Battle of Wahoo Swamp. A small military outpost was built in 1838 on the western shore of Lake Fumecheliga (later Lake Maitland) during the Second Seminole War. After the Civil War, new residents arrived in the area. Christopher Columbus Beasley, perhaps the first permanent settler, arrived at Lake Maitland in 1871. A post office opened on January 2 of the next year and operated in his home. Around this post office, a small town grew. In the closing decades of the nineteenth century the area was put into extensive citrus production.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Maitland, 1872 to 2014

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872
    FoundingMaitland is established
  3. 1872Post officeThe Lake Maitland post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1905Post officeThe Lake Maitland post office closes
  6. 1905Post officeThe Maitland post office opens
  7. 1965BuiltSiegmund and Marilyn Goldman House is built
  8. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 21st century
  10. 2014LandmarkThe Research Studio (Maitland Art Center) named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Maitland, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Maitland Lake Lily Dixie Hwy052007Maitland Lake Lily Dixie Hwy05Maitland Lake Lily Dixie Hwy042007Maitland Lake Lily Dixie Hwy04Maitland Lake Lily Dixie Hwy032007Maitland Lake Lily Dixie Hwy03Maitland Lake Lily Dixie Hwy022007Maitland Lake Lily Dixie Hwy02Maitland Lake Lily Dixie Hwy012007Maitland Lake Lily Dixie Hwy01Maitland Lake Lily Dixie Hwy plaque012007Maitland Lake Lily Dixie Hwy plaque01Maitland Lake Lily Black Bear plaque012007Maitland Lake Lily Black Bear plaque01Lakelily2005LakelilyRoad photo from October 9, 2004 1232004Road photo from October 9, 2004 123FLMap-doton-Maitland2004FLMap-doton-MaitlandRoad photo from June 23, 2002 832002Road photo from June 23, 2002 83
On the map

Maitland on the map, 1970 to 1994

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

Maitland on the 1970 USGS mapMaitland on the 1980 USGS mapMaitland on the 1994 USGS map1970Casselberry 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 Maitland.

People over time

Maitland, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000190019201940196019802000202019,543

Grew from 136 people in 1900 to 19,543 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Maitland’s post office has been open since 1905. Another post office, Lake Maitland, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lake Maitland
1872–1905
Maitland
1905–today
18701950today

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.

Eatonville1 historic placeC+Winter Park12 historic placesB−Altamonte Springs1 historic placeCFern ParkIts storyD

Questions about Maitland’s history

What year was Maitland founded?

In 1872, according to Wikidata. Maitland’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1900 counted 136 people here.

How does Maitland rank for history?

Maitland is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #121 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 Maitland?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Research Studio (Maitland Art Center) (a National Historic Landmark since 2014) and the Maitland Art Center (listed 1982, the first). 9 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Maitland?

1% of Maitland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1996.

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, 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.