Orlando’s post office opened in 1857, and 23 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 53% of U.S. towns · #64 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Orlando was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. 23 places in town are on the National Register, among them nine historic districts with 2,135 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1890.
The Orlando post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1875. Another post office, Orange Center (1912), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 2,856 in 18902020 census: 307,573169 years
How historic is Orlando?
B−
More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Orlando post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1875.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Orlando’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Orlando is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #64 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Orlando’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Orlando ranks #231 on History.
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 Orlando’s 67.3 sits above most of its state (93% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 2,152 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Orlando’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1875 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Orlando’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Orlando’s post office has been open since 1857. Another post office, Orange Center, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Orlando
1857–today
Orange Center
1912–1918
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Barton Lake Mobile Home ParkGrand Avenue Trailer ParkLake HartMarsh's Trailer ParkPalamar Trailer ParkRosemontSabal Palm Mobile Home ParkSandy Shores Mobile Home ParkSouth Orange Mobile Home ParkTala ApopkaWhippoorwill Mobile Home ParkWhispering Palms Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Callahan SchoolschoolMcCoy Air Force BasemilitaryOrlando Army Air Basemilitary
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Orlando
Doctor PhillipsGreenwoodLockWashington Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1823, the Treaty of Moultrie Creek created a Seminole reservation encompassing much of central Florida, including the area that would become Orlando. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorized relocation of the Seminole from Florida to Oklahoma, and along with the enforcement of the Treaty of Payne's Landing led to the Second Seminole War. In 1842, white settlement in the area was encouraged by the Armed Occupation Act. The first settler, Aaron Jernigan of Camden County, Georgia, arrived the following year and settled near Lake Holden.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Orlando. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Orlando West 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 Orlando.
Every building
Orlando, building by building, 1884–1919
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 year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this viewPSM V77 D372 A typical florida hammock, 1910
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Orlando’s page.
The Orlando post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1875.
How does Orlando rank for history?
Orlando is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #64 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 Orlando?
23 listings: 13 buildings, among them the Old Orlando Railroad Depot (listed 1976, the first), 9 historic districts with 2,135 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 2,152 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Orlando?
3% of Orlando’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1992.
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (23), 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.
1910
1910
1910
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