More historic than 6% of U.S. towns · #446 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Princeton was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2008. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1960.
Founding year: the first Princeton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Princeton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Princeton is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #446 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Princeton’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 Princeton’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 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 Princeton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
As a small town and depot along the Florida East Coast Railroad in the 1900s, the community was named by Gaston Drake after his alma mater, Princeton University. Many of the town buildings were even painted the school's colors: black and orange. Drake operated a saw mill and lumber company in Princeton supplying Miami, the Florida Keys and Cuba until the local timber gave out in 1923.
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.
The Princeton post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Princeton rank for history?
Princeton is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #446 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 Princeton?
0.6% of Princeton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 2008.
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 (2), 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.
2004
