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CHistory
History · Mayo

Mayo’s post office opened in 1881

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Mayo was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1910.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Mayo began

When was Mayo founded?

1881

The Mayo post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 578 in 19102020 census: 1,055145 years

How historic is Mayo?

C

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Mayo’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mayo is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mayo’s overall grade.
Founding era1881, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.7% of homes (±4.6) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National 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 25%
NewerOlder

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 Mayo’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 points). 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 Mayo’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 Mayo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mayo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mayo’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 Mayo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mayo.

Read it all →

Although the current Town of Mayo was settled and established in 1874 by John B. Whitfield, the town was not officially incorporated as a municipality until 1903. Whitfield decided to name the town after James M. Mayo, who was a colonel in the Confederate States Army.

An African American man named Charles Strong was lynched on January 17, 1922.

In August 2018, Mayo temporarily changed the town's name to "Miracle Whip" as an advertisement publicity stunt for the Kraft Heinz brand.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mayo, 1881 to 1976

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Mayo post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1935Born hereBill Birchfield is born here
  5. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1976Born hereReggie McGrew is born here
By decade

Mayo, decade by decade

Today13 recent
WB Lafayette CR3002026WB Lafayette CR300Lafayette County FL250 Sign Rear2026Lafayette County FL250 Sign RearLafayette County FL250 Sign Front2026Lafayette County FL250 Sign FrontEdward Perry Sports Complex entrance2026Edward Perry Sports Complex entranceEB Lafayette CR4002026EB Lafayette CR400Directional road sign2024Directional road signMayo city sign US27 SB2021Mayo city sign US27 SBFletcher St NB at US272021Fletcher St NB at US27Untitled photo2021Untitled photoBlessings of Hope2021Blessings of HopeMayo FL US 27 west012011Mayo FL US 27 west01Mayo FL US 27 SR 51 east012011Mayo FL US 27 SR 51 east01FLMap-doton-Mayo2004FLMap-doton-Mayo
On the map

Mayo on the map, 1955 to 1979

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

Mayo on the 1955 USGS mapMayo on the 1979 USGS map1955Mayo 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 Mayo.

Every building

Mayo, building by building, 1917

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Mayo fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 11917Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Mayo, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,237

Between 531 and 1,237 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Mayo

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

See all →
R
Reggie McGrewAmerican college football player, professional … · b. 1976
Bill BirchfieldAmerican politician · b. 1935

Questions about Mayo’s history

What year was Mayo founded?

The Mayo post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Mayo rank for history?

Mayo is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns. 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 Mayo?

7% of Mayo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 (13), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.