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History · Shalimar

Shalimar’s post office opened in 1943

Most of Shalimar was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1938 on and the census since 1950.

1943first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Skye Marthaler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Shalimar began

When was Shalimar founded?

1943

The Shalimar post office opened in 1943, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1947.

First census: 694 in 19502020 census: 73783 years
Founding year: the first Shalimar post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1947.The full story ↓

What stands out about Shalimar’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Shalimar are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1960 and 1990, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Shalimar’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Shalimar, census by census

02004006008001960198020002020754 in 1960Low: 341

Lost half of its people between 1960 and 1990, then more than doubled.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

The story

How Shalimar came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Shalimar.

Read it all →

During the First World War Germany stopped shipping dye to the United States. Silas Gibson was contracted to build a dye plant at Black Pointe. W. N. Hartgrove taught at a school at the dye plant. Dances and a "Hallowe'en social" would be hosted at the dye plant. The plant would close sometime in the early 1920s. In the 1950s, a myth would spread that 130 Germans operated the dye plant and it was "actually an explosives factory and probably a submarine base as well."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Shalimar, 1938 to 1960

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1938On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1943Post officeThe Shalimar post office opens
  4. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 754
By decade

Shalimar, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Shalimar, Florida palm trees March 16, 20232023Shalimar, Florida palm trees March 16, 2023Shalimar Town Hall2014Shalimar Town HallFLMap-doton-Shalimar2004FLMap-doton-Shalimar
On the map

Shalimar on the map, 1938 to 1994

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

Shalimar on the 1938 USGS mapShalimar on the 1956 USGS mapShalimar on the 1970 USGS mapShalimar on the 1987 USGS mapShalimar on the 1994 USGS map1938Mary Esther 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 Shalimar.

Famous people

Famous people close to Shalimar

Nobody well known was born in Shalimar itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Kevin Stitt28th governor of Oklahoma · b. 1972
Bubba WatsonAmerican professional golfer · b. 1978
Alexa GuarachiChilean tennis player · b. 1990
Daniel EwingAmerican basketball player · b. 1983
M
Mark EverettAmerican track and field athlete, middle-distan… · b. 1968
Aric AlmirolaRacecar driver · b. 1984
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lake LorraineIts storyD

Questions about Shalimar’s history

What year was Shalimar founded?

The Shalimar post office opened in 1943, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1947.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.