Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Niceville

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
D−History
History · Niceville

Niceville was first counted by the census in 1940

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns · #567 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Niceville was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1940.

1940first census
0on the National Register
0.2%homes built before 1940
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Skye Marthaler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Niceville began

When was Niceville founded?

1940

Niceville first appears in the census in 1940. Another post office, Boggy (1893), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 948 in 19402020 census: 15,77286 years

How historic is Niceville?

D−

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Niceville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Niceville is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #567 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Niceville’s overall grade.
Founding era1940, from the first census: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.2% of homes (±0.3) · 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 4%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 11%

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 Niceville’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 D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 Niceville’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 Niceville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Niceville’s collection

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

From Wikipedia’s history of Niceville.

Read it all →

When mail service began on July 21, 1868, the city was known as Boggy, and on November 5, 1910, the name was officially changed to Niceville. The name Niceville was selected by the postmaster's daughter. In 1915, Niceville became part of newly formed Okaloosa County after previously being in Walton County. It is a twin city along with Valparaiso, which borders it on the west side of the city.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Niceville, 1893 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893Post officeThe Boggy post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910Post officeThe Boggy post office closes
  5. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1970Born hereMark Edwin Lewis is born here
  7. 1975Born hereJulian Pittman is born here
  8. 21st century
  9. 2000Born hereAnna Banks is born here
  10. 2000Born hereJuanyeh Thomas is born here
By decade

Niceville, decade by decade

Today3 recent
The last of the legends2013The last of the legendsNiceville FL SR 85-397 intersection north012010Niceville FL SR 85-397 intersection north01FLMap-doton-Niceville2004FLMap-doton-Niceville
On the map

Niceville on the map, 1936 to 1994

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

Niceville on the 1936 USGS mapNiceville on the 1956 USGS mapNiceville on the 1970 USGS mapNiceville on the 1987 USGS mapNiceville on the 1994 USGS map1936Niceville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Niceville.

People over time

Niceville, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,0001940196019802000202015,772

Grew from 948 people in 1940 to 15,772 in 2020, more than tenfold.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Niceville

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

See all →
A
Anna BanksAmerican author · b. 2000
J
Juanyeh ThomasAmerican football player · b. 2000
M
Mark Edwin LewisAmerican operations researcher · b. 1970
J
Julian PittmanAmerican football player · b. 1975
K
Kevin KnoxAmerican football player · b. 1971
R
Roy FinchAmerican football player · b. 1991
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Boggy, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Dana Point
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Niceville
EarlyRockySweeney

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.

Valparaiso2 historic placesC+

Questions about Niceville’s history

What year was Niceville founded?

The Niceville post office opened in 1940, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Niceville rank for history?

Niceville is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #567 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 Niceville?

0.2% of Niceville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1989.

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 (3), 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.