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C−History
History · Marathon

Marathon’s post office opened in 1909, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #206 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Marathon was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Its Register listings are the George Adderley House and the Crane Point. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1971 on, and the census since 1970.

1909first post office
2on the National Register
0.7%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Marathon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Marathon began

When was Marathon founded?

1909

The Marathon post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1999.

First census: 4,397 in 19702020 census: 9,689117 years

How historic is Marathon?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Marathon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1999.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Marathon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marathon is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #206 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 Marathon’s overall grade.
Founding era1909, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.7% of homes (±0.6) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 5 historic buildings, 5.0 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 23%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 68%

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 Marathon’s 5.0 sits above most of its state (81% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1999.

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 Marathon’s past

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

Lost villages7 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Marathon’s post office has been open since 1909.

Marathon
1909–today
Marathon Shores
1955–today
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Galway Bay Mobile Home ParkGulf View Trailer HavenJolly Roger Travel ParkMarathon ShoresTerra Marine Trailer ParkTrailerama Mobile Home ParkValhalla
Gone or out of use
Sue M Moore Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Marathon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Marathon.

Read it all →

Though the area has been settled for some time, Marathon is a relatively new city, incorporated in 1999.

The name Marathon dates back to the origin of the Florida East Coast Railroad. The name came from the railroad workers who were working night and day to complete the railway; due to the unrelenting pace and struggle to complete the project, workers complained that "this is getting to be a real marathon", and the word was later used to name the local railroad station.

ChaptersHurricane Irma

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Marathon, 1909 to 1985

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1909Post officeThe Marathon post office opens
  3. 1955Post officeThe Marathon Shores post office opens
  4. 1965In the archiveCampsites at Knights Key Park Campground
  5. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1973In the archiveFISHING NEAR MARATHON IN THE CENTRAL FLORIDA KEYS
  7. 1976Born hereTony Bryant is born here
  8. 1985In the archiveLonghorn Marina
By decade

Marathon, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1960s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s–1970s9 items
Campsites at Knights Key Park Campground1965Campsites at Knights Key Park CampgroundFISHING NEAR MARATHON IN THE CENTRAL FLORIDA KEYS1973FISHING NEAR MARATHON IN THE CENTRAL FLORIDA KEYSLAND DEVELOPER'S ADVERTISEMENT1973LAND DEVELOPER'S ADVERTISEMENTRESTING BOATER IDLES HIS CRAFT IN A LAGOON AT MARATHON IN THE CENTRAL FLORIDA KEYS1973RESTING BOATER IDLES HIS CRAFT IN A LAGOON AT MARATHO…TRAILER PARK UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT MARATHON IN THE CENTRAL FLORIDA KEYS. PARKS LIKE THIS ARE PROLIFERATING THROUGHOUT T…1973TRAILER PARK UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT MARATHON IN THE CE…TRAILER PARK UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT MARATHON IN THE CENTRAL FLORIDA KEYS. THIS IS ONE OF MANY SUCH PARKS SPRINGING UP...…1973TRAILER PARK UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT MARATHON IN THE CE…TRAILER PARK UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT MARATHON IN THE CENTRAL FLORIDA KEYS. THIS IS ONE OF MANY SUCH PARKS SPRINGING UP...…1973TRAILER PARK UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT MARATHON IN THE CE…TRAILER PARK UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT MARATHON IN THE CENTRAL FLORIDA KEYS. THIS IS ONE OF MANY SUCH PARKS SPRINGING UP...…1973TRAILER PARK UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT MARATHON IN THE CE…WHITE HERON NEAR MARATHON IN THE CENTRAL FLORIDA KEYS1973WHITE HERON NEAR MARATHON IN THE CENTRAL FLORIDA KEYS
1980s1 item
Longhorn Marina1985Longhorn Marina
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
Today8 recent
Dolphin-Research-Center @ Grassy Key the friendly Bottlenose Dolphin2013Dolphin-Research-Center @ Grassy Key the friendly Bot…Marathon Marina. View from floating accommodations at Marina2012Marathon Marina. View from floating accommodations at…Dolphin Research Center in2012Dolphin Research Center in7 Mile Bridge www.florida-infos.com20117 Mile Bridge www.florida-infos.com7 Mile Bridge www.florida-infos.com - panoramio (1)20117 Mile Bridge www.florida-infos.com - panoramio (1)FL Iguana2008FL IguanaEnchanted-Pier2007Enchanted-PierBeach-Resort2007Beach-Resort
On the map

Marathon on the map, 1971 to 1983

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

Marathon on the 1971 USGS mapMarathon on the 1983 USGS map1971Marathon 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 Marathon.

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.

Campsites at Knights Key Park Campground
Retake this viewCampsites at Knights Key Park Campground, 1965

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Marathon’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Marathon

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
George Adderley House
George Adderley HouseCrane Point
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Masonry Vernacular1
George Adderley HouseMasonry Vernacular
All 2 listings
Crane PointBuilding · listed 2021

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

People over time

Marathon, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000198020002020Peak: 10,255

Between 4,397 and 10,255 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Marathon’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCampsites at Knights Key Park Campground: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Key Colony BeachIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Marathon’s history

What year was Marathon founded?

The Marathon post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1999.

How does Marathon rank for history?

Marathon is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #206 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 Marathon?

Two places: the George Adderley House (listed 1992) and the Crane Point (2021).

How old are the homes in Marathon?

0.7% of Marathon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1982.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.