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C+History
History · Orange Park

Orange Park’s post office opened in 1877, and 8 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #106 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Orange Park was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 10 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1880.

1877first post office
8on the National Register
0.7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
13famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Orange Park’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Orange Park began

When was Orange Park founded?

1877

The Orange Park post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Laurel Grove (1866), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 134 in 18802020 census: 9,089149 years

How historic is Orange Park?

C+

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Orange Park’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Orange Park is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #106 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Orange Park’s overall grade.
Founding era1877, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.7% of homes (±0.9) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register8 listings, 24 historic buildings, 26.5 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 41%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 84%

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 Orange Park’s 26.5 sits above most of its state (89% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 24 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. 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 Orange Park’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register8 places on the National Register.On the map since 19176 editions of the USGS map, 1917 to 1993. Watch Orange Park change.Famous sons and daughtersChristopher Fogt, Billy Butler and 11 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Orange Park’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old view91.7 The Truth Final: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

8 historic places in Orange Park

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

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
24
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Winterbourne
WinterbourneJoseph Green House, built 1893Orange Park Elementary SchoolOrange Park Negro Elementary SchoolRiver Road Historic DistrictWilliam Clarke EstateWilliam Helffrich HouseWilliam Westcott House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Frame Vernacular6
Vernacular1
Masonry Vernacular1
Colonial Revival1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
WinterbourneVernacular
Joseph Green HouseFrame Vernacular · Built 1893
Orange Park Elementary SchoolMasonry Vernacular
Orange Park Negro Elementary SchoolFrame Vernacular
River Road Historic DistrictColonial Revival
William Clarke EstateFrame Vernacular
William Helffrich HouseFrame Vernacular
William Westcott HouseFrame Vernacular

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

On the map

Orange Park on the map, 1917 to 1993

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

Orange Park on the 1917 USGS mapOrange Park on the 1952 USGS mapOrange Park on the 1964 USGS mapOrange Park on the 1970 USGS mapOrange Park on the 1981 USGS mapOrange Park on the 1993 USGS map1917Orange Park 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 Orange Park.

The story

How Orange Park came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Orange Park.

Read it all →

Orange Park in the late 18th century was known simply as Laurel Grove. The name Laurel Grove comes from Sarah and William Pengree, who received a land grant from the Spanish governor. Laurel Grove was sold to Zephaniah Kingsley, of the Kingsley Plantation, upon William's death. Zephaniah developed Laurel Grove into a model farming plantation for over 10 years. In 1813, General Matthews invaded East Florida, triggering the Patriots' Rebellion. After Mathews left East Florida, Zephaniah's wife, Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, burned down Laurel Grove to keep it out of Patriots' hands.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Orange Park, 1866 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Laurel Grove post office opens
  3. 1869Post officeThe Laurel Grove post office closes
  4. 1877Post officeThe Orange Park post office opens
  5. 1893BuiltJoseph Green House is built
  6. 20th century
  7. 1917On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1983Born hereChristopher Fogt is born here
  9. 1985Born hereAlicia Gladden is born here
  10. 1986Born hereBilly Butler is born here
  11. 1994Born hereDane Dunning is born here
By decade

Orange Park, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
91.7 The Truth FinalDate?91.7 The Truth Final
Today13 recent
Blue Sky2024Blue SkyThe Urban Bean Coffeehouse Cafe, Orange Park, United States (Unsplash Mw1efRU1qcU)2016The Urban Bean Coffeehouse Cafe, Orange Park, United …Untitled photo2014Untitled photoUS Highway 17 - Florida2013US Highway 17 - FloridaUS Highway 17 - Florida2013US Highway 17 - FloridaUS Highway 17 - Florida2013US Highway 17 - FloridaUS Highway 17 - Florida2013US Highway 17 - FloridaCBC Team20132013CBC Team2013CBC Team2013CBC TeamOrangeParkCFL2012OrangeParkCFLDoctorsLakeOP22008DoctorsLakeOP2DoctorsLakeOP2008DoctorsLakeOPFLMap-doton-OrangePark2004FLMap-doton-OrangePark
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.

91.7 The Truth Final
Retake this view91.7 The Truth Final

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Orange Park, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 9,488

Between 134 and 9,488 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

13 famous people were born in Orange Park

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

See all →
Christopher FogtAmerican bobsledder · b. 1983
Billy ButlerAmerican baseball player · b. 1986
A
Alicia GladdenAmerican basketball player · b. 1985
Dane DunningAmerican baseball player · b. 1994
G
Garry LewisAmerican soccer player · b. 1986
G
Greg EckhardtAmerican soccer player · b. 1989
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Orange Park’s post office has been open since 1877. Another post office, Laurel Grove, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Laurel Grove
1866–1869
Orange Park
1877–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Holly PointLaurel Grove
1cemetery inside Orange Park
Magnolia

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.

LakesideIts storyDFleming Island2 historic placesCJacksonville106 historic placesA−Bellair-Meadowbrook TerraceIts storyD

Questions about Orange Park’s history

What year was Orange Park founded?

The Orange Park post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Orange Park rank for history?

Orange Park is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #106 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 Orange Park?

8 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Winterbourne (listed 1996, the first), and 1 historic district, the River Road Historic District, with 10 contributing buildings. 24 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Orange Park?

0.7% of Orange Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 (14), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.