Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 14% of U.S. towns · #292 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Seminole was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1974 on and the census since 1980.
The Seminole post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 14% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Seminole is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #292 of 638 in Florida. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Seminole’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Seminole’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Seminole.
The first white settlement at Seminole was made in the 1840s. This community was named after the Seminole tribe, whose descendants still inhabited the area. Seminole was incorporated in 1970. In April 2015, demolition began at Seminole Mall, which was planned to be replaced by the outdoor Seminole City Center.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Seminole. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Seminole.
Grew from 4,586 people in 1980 to 19,364 in 2020, 4 times over.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Seminole’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Seminole’s post office has been open since 1886.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Seminole post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Seminole is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #292 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.
0.2% of Seminole’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1979.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), 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.
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