Okeechobee dates to 1835, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #50 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Freedman-Raulerson House and the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Most of Okeechobee was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1925 on, and the census since 1920.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1902.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Okeechobee’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Okeechobee is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #50 of 638 in Florida. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Okeechobee’s overall grade.
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 Okeechobee’s 3.7 sits above most of its state (80% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1835.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 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 Okeechobee’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Okeechobee is close to the site of the Battle of Lake Okeechobee, a major battle of the Second Seminole War, fought between forces under the command of Zachary Taylor and Seminole warriors resisting forced removal to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s. (This territory was later admitted as the state of Oklahoma in 1907.)
The Lake Okeechobee area was severely damaged in the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, the first recorded Category 5 hurricane in the North Atlantic. This was one of the deadliest hurricanes ever to strike the US.
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.
In 1835, according to Wikidata. Okeechobee’s post office opened in 1902, and the census of 1920 counted 900 people here.
How does Okeechobee rank for history?
Okeechobee is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #50 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 Okeechobee?
Two places: the Freedman-Raulerson House (listed 1985) and the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South (2015).
How old are the homes in Okeechobee?
2% of Okeechobee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (5), 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), 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.
2006
