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C−History
History · Seffner

Seffner’s post office opened in 1884

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #252 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Seffner was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1921 on and the census since 1990.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Piperpet · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Seffner began

When was Seffner founded?

1884

The Seffner post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 5,371 in 19902020 census: 8,362142 years

How historic is Seffner?

C−

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Seffner post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Seffner’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Seffner is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #252 of 638 in Florida. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Seffner’s overall grade.
Founding era1884, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.3% of homes (±1.6) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical FL town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 17%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 61%

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 Seffner’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 C. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 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 Seffner’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages28 hamlets and corners are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Seffner are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19216 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1999. Watch Seffner change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Old corners

Seffner’s post office has been open since 1884.

Hamlets and corners on the map
American GardensBroadway Heights EastCash AcresDarby LakeEllsworthEstates at Parsons PointeGoins TerraceHickory HillHickory Lakes ManorJolly CornerKings RowKingswayLake ViewLake WeeksMagnolia Mobile ManorOld Hillsborough EstatesParsons PointePatsSeffner HeightsSeffner ParkShangri LaStevens ManorSunrise ManorThe Groves North

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Seffner’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Seffner on the map, 1921 to 1999

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

Seffner on the 1921 USGS mapSeffner on the 1944 USGS mapSeffner on the 1956 USGS mapSeffner on the 1969 USGS mapSeffner on the 1981 USGS mapSeffner on the 1999 USGS map1921Tampa sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Seffner.

The story

How Seffner came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Seffner.

Read it all →

The area southeast of the present-day community of Thonotosassa originally called Simmon’s Hammock is now known as Seffner. The Hammock was named for Baptist minister Daniel Simmon from Savannah, Georgia. Following the signing of the Treaty of Moultrie Creek and the establishment of Fort Brooke, Simmon set-up a mission to Native American (probably Seminole, Miccosukee, or Creek) people living near Lake Thonotosassa. This early settlement of Simmon's Hammock ended with the beginning of the Second Seminole War in late 1835. However, the Armed Occupation Act of 1842 following the cessation of hostilities reponed settlement into Hillsborough County. Following the Dade battle, Major-General Edmond P. Gaines led a group of U.S. soldiers through Simmon’s Hammock on their way to investigate the incident. In early 1836, Gaines reported that three homesteads in that area were burned to the gr…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Seffner, 1884 to 1996

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Seffner post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1978Born hereJonathan Ordway is born here
  6. 1988Born hereTorrey Davis is born here
  7. 1996Born hereByron Cowart is born here
  8. 1996Born hereChandler Powell is born here
By decade

Seffner, decade by decade

Today11 recent
SeffnerPostOfficeRedone2020SeffnerPostOfficeRedoneSeffnerFLSignMLK2020SeffnerFLSignMLKSeffnerPostOffice2019SeffnerPostOfficeSeffner-Mango Branch Library2019Seffner-Mango Branch LibrarySeffner sign 22019Seffner sign 2Seffner sign 12019Seffner sign 1Seffner Christian Academy2019Seffner Christian AcademyArmwood High School2017Armwood High SchoolEB I-4 Hillsborough County Weigh Station (One Mile)2015EB I-4 Hillsborough County Weigh Station (One Mile)EB I-4 Hillsborough County Weigh Station (Next Right)2015EB I-4 Hillsborough County Weigh Station (Next Right)FLMap-doton-Seffner2004FLMap-doton-Seffner
People over time

Seffner, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00020002020Peak: 8,362

Between 5,371 and 8,362 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Seffner

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Byron CowartAmerican football player · b. 1996
Torrey DavisAmerican football player, defensive tackle · b. 1988
C
Chandler PowellAmerican and Australian wildlife conservationis… · b. 1996
J
Jonathan OrdwayPlayer of American and Canadian football · b. 1978
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

MangoIts storyC−BrandonIts storyD

Questions about Seffner’s history

What year was Seffner founded?

The Seffner post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Seffner rank for history?

Seffner is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #252 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 Seffner?

1% of Seffner’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1989.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), 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) 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.