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B−History
History · Ocklawaha

Ocklawaha’s post office opened in 1884, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Ocklawaha was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1960. Its Register listing is the Alfred Ayer House. Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1970 on.

1884first post office
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ocklawaha’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ocklawaha began

When was Ocklawaha founded?

1884

The Ocklawaha post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lake Weir (1880), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,508142 years

How historic is Ocklawaha?

B−

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Ocklawaha’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ocklawaha is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ocklawaha’s overall grade.
Founding era1884, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.5% of homes (±8.9) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 6.3 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
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 Ocklawaha’s 6.3 sits above most of its state (83% 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 C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.9 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 Ocklawaha’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Ocklawaha’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ocklawaha’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ocklawaha’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewOn the Ocklawaha, Florida (NBY 429621): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Ocklawaha came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ocklawaha.

Read it all →

A post office was established at Ocklawaha in 1884. The area has its own postal district (32179) and post office. The community took its name from the nearby Ocklawaha River.

In 1935, Ocklawaha was the scene of a shootout between federal agents and Barker-Karpis Gang member Fred Barker. The agents fired about 500 bullets into the house, with roughly 250 shots fired in return, according to the after-action report of Special Agent in Charge Earl "E.J." Connelley. The fight ended in the deaths of Fred Barker and his mother Kate "Ma" Barker.

ChaptersThe Shootout

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ocklawaha, 1837 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837In the archiveTroops fording Lake
  3. 1880Post officeThe Lake Weir post office opens
  4. 1884Post officeThe Ocklawaha post office opens
  5. 1885BuiltAlfred Ayer House is built
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901In the archiveOn the Ocklawaha, Florida (NBY 429621)
  8. 1902Post officeThe Oklawaha post office opens
  9. 1935Post officeThe Lake Weir post office closes
  10. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ocklawaha, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s1 item
Troops fording Lake1837Troops fording LakeDocument
1900s2 items
On the Ocklawaha, Florida (NBY 429621)1901On the Ocklawaha, Florida (NBY 429621)On the Ocklawaha, Florida1902On the Ocklawaha, Florida
1910s–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
Today10 recent
CR25wRoadShaded-MarionCountyFL2012CR25wRoadShaded-MarionCountyFLCR25 North - CR464C Sign2012CR25 North - CR464C SignOcklawaha sheriff office012008Ocklawaha sheriff office01Ocklawaha post office012008Ocklawaha post office01Ocklawaha conv store012008Ocklawaha conv store01Ocklawaha Inn012008Ocklawaha Inn01Road photo from May 31, 2003 1242003Road photo from May 31, 2003 124Road photo from May 31, 2003 1232003Road photo from May 31, 2003 123Road photo from May 31, 2003 1202003Road photo from May 31, 2003 120Road photo from May 31, 2003 1192003Road photo from May 31, 2003 119
On the map

Ocklawaha on the map, 1970 to 1993

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

Ocklawaha on the 1970 USGS mapOcklawaha on the 1980 USGS mapOcklawaha on the 1993 USGS map1970Lake Weir 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 Ocklawaha.

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.

On the Ocklawaha, Florida (NBY 429621)
Retake this viewOn the Ocklawaha, Florida (NBY 429621), 1901

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Ocklawaha

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
1993
Alfred Ayer House
Alfred Ayer House, built 1885
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Frame Vernacular1
Alfred Ayer HouseFrame Vernacular · Built 1885

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Ocklawaha

Nobody well known was born in Ocklawaha itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Elizabeth AshleyAmerican actress · b. 1939
E
Erin JacksonAmerican speed skater · b. 1992
B
Brittany BoweAmerican speed skater · b. 1988
Buddy MacKayAmerican politician · b. 1933
Patrick O'NealAmerican actor · b. 1927
Joey MantiaAmerican speed skater · b. 1986
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Ocklawaha’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Lake Weir, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lake Weir
1880–1935
Ocklawaha
1884–today
Oklawaha
1902–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lake WeirLake Weir Pines Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Lake Weir Seaplane Baseairport
1cemetery inside Ocklawaha
Ocklawaha Community

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.

Silver Springs Shores EastIts storyD

Questions about Ocklawaha’s history

What year was Ocklawaha founded?

The Ocklawaha post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Ocklawaha rank for history?

Ocklawaha is more historic than 47% 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.

What is on the National Register in Ocklawaha?

One place: the Alfred Ayer House (listed 1993).

How old are the homes in Ocklawaha?

8% of Ocklawaha’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.9 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1960.

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 (12), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.