Half of Port St. John’s homes were built after 1989
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #387 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Port St. John was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1990.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Port St. John is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #387 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Port St. John’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 Port St. John’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (33% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Port St. John’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 2002, a group of five Port St. John residents formed "Port St. John For Tomorrow" (PSJ4T) and tried to incorporate the Port St. John area. Included in PSJ4T's incorporation plans were five separate communities: Delespine, Williams Point, Hardeeville, Frontenac and a part of Sharpes. PSJ4T had not informed these five communities. When the five communities did find out, they expressed disinterest in being included in the incorporation effort. A feasibility study was requested by PSJ4T members. Voters approved the study. The study was funded by Brevard County and performed by the University of Central Florida. The five reviewing committees in Tallahassee said the study was "deeply flawed.". The county allowed the residents of Port St. John and the five communities to vote on becoming a city. Howard Futch and Randy Ball (CS/HB 1071) sponsored the bills in the Senate and House. The in…
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Port St. John. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1949Sharpes 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 Port St. John.
People over time
Port St. John, census by census
Grew from 8,933 people in 1990 to 23,474 in 2020.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Port St. John’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Port St. John
Nobody well known was born in Port St. John itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Port St. John is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #387 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.
How old are the homes in Port St. John?
0.3% of Port St. John’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 (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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