Pahokee’s post office opened in 1918, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns · #170 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Pahokee was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Its Register listing is the Pahokee High School. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1970 on, and the census since 1930.
The Pahokee post office opened in 1918, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1922. Another post office, Bacom Point (1918), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 2,256 in 19302020 census: 5,524108 years
How historic is Pahokee?
C
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Pahokee post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1922.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pahokee’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pahokee is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #170 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pahokee’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 Pahokee’s 1.8 sits above most of its state (76% 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 D to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1922 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 Pahokee’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Pahokee’s post office has been open since 1918. Another post office, Bacom Point, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Bacom Point
1918–1925
Pahokee
1918–today
19101970today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Barfield Mobile Home ParkDuncan Padgett Mobile Home ParkHanson Mobile Home ParkHerring Mobile Home ParkKeen Mobile Home ParkKing Bee Trailer ParkMay's Mobile Home ParkMoss Mobile Home ParkMurphy's Mobile Home ParkPahokee Trailer ParkPelican River Mobile Home ParkShirley's Trailer ParkUshers Trailer Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
By decade
Pahokee, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
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.
Pahokee was incorporated in 1922. The name "Pahokee" means "grassy waters" in the Creek language. Local residents refer to Pahokee as "The K" which is a part of "the Muck" and is known for the mineral-rich dark soil in which sugar cane, citrus fruits, and corn are grown by agribusinesses. In the 1930s, it was known as the "Winter Vegetable Capital of the World".
The city was severely affected, as were the other communities to the south of the lake, by the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. Hurricane Wilma, in 2005, destroyed a newly built marina.
The Pahokee post office opened in 1918, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1922.
How does Pahokee rank for history?
Pahokee is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #170 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 Pahokee?
One place: the Pahokee High School (listed 1996).
How old are the homes in Pahokee?
7% of Pahokee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (14), the National Register of Historic Places (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.
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1939![Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]](https://images.townratings.com/story/2260/65e0108e7e8fad09d16b-s.jpg)
1940![Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]](https://images.townratings.com/story/2260/ba8e8d9762015ecc2694-s.jpg)
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