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History · Otter Creek

Otter Creek dates to 1856, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1970.

1856founded
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
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Photo: LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Otter Creek began

When was Otter Creek founded?

1856

Otter Creek dates its founding to 1856 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 230 in 19702020 census: 108170 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓

What stands out about Otter Creek’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 Otter Creek are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Otter Creek’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Otter Creek came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Otter Creek.

Read it all →

Hernando de Soto crossed Otter Creek during his explorations of Florida in 1539.

It was settled in 1856, and the community was called "Otter Creek Ford".

In the 1930s and 1940s, Otter Creek was the second largest community in Levy County, with a population approaching 1,000.

The loss of a lumber mill that made cypress "flitches" for citrus crates and the discontinuation of two railroads which bisected the town led to a steady population decline.

The Town of Otter Creek was officially incorporated as a municipality in 1969.

In 2007, the town council created a local historic district consisting of neighborhoods with "company town" residences that date from the 19th and early 20th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Otter Creek, 1856 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856
    FoundingOtter Creek is established
  3. 1871Post officeThe Otter Creek post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Otter Creek, decade by decade

Today11 recent
WB FL 24; JCT US 19-98;2025WB FL 24; JCT US 19-98;Untitled photo2025Untitled photoNB US 19-98; JCT FL 24;2025NB US 19-98; JCT FL 24;NB US 19-98 near FL 24; Signs to Cedar Key and Bronson2025NB US 19-98 near FL 24; Signs to Cedar Key and BronsonNB US 19-98 Enters2025NB US 19-98 EntersUntitled photo2025Untitled photoEB FL 24; 2-Line Distance Sign;2025EB FL 24; 2-Line Distance Sign;USPS Otter Creek, FL; 326832023USPS Otter Creek, FL; 32683Otter Creek, Florida2022Otter Creek, FloridaAn Old Florida-style roadside house, now well weathered and serving primarily as a place to hang a sign advertising a c…2020An Old Florida-style roadside house, now well weather…FLMap-doton-OtterCreek2004FLMap-doton-OtterCreek
On the map

Otter Creek on the map, 1954 to 1988

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

Otter Creek on the 1954 USGS mapOtter Creek on the 1988 USGS map1954Otter Creek 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 Otter Creek.

People over time

Otter Creek, census by census

0100200198020002020Peak: 230

Between 108 and 230 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Questions about Otter Creek’s history

What year was Otter Creek founded?

In 1856, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Otter Creek’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1970 counted 230 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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.