Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to South Bay

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
DHistory
History · South Bay

South Bay’s post office opened in 1919

More historic than 6% of U.S. towns · #446 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of South Bay was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1950.

1919first post office
0on the National Register
0.6%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How South Bay began

When was South Bay founded?

1919

The South Bay post office opened in 1919, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,050 in 19502020 census: 4,860107 years

How historic is South Bay?

D

More historic than 6% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives South Bay’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Bay 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 South Bay’s overall grade.
Founding era1919, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.6% of homes (±1.1) · 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 6%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 30%

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 South Bay’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 (±1.1 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 South Bay’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 South Bay are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Bay’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Bay’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
The story

How South Bay came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of South Bay.

Read it all →

South Bay was named for its location on Lake Okeechobee. The town was incorporated in 1941. The first mayor of South Bay was Aubrey (a.k.a. "Orb") Walker, who, along with his brother, Haughty D. Walker (a.k.a. "Haught"), survived the great hurricane of 1928 by gathering his family members onto a boat in the canal.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

South Bay, 1919 to 1975

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1919Post officeThe South Bay post office opens
  3. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1975Born hereWayne Messam is born here
By decade

South Bay, decade by decade

Today19 recent
US 27 - Mapillary2024US 27 - MapillaryUS 27 - Mapillary2024US 27 - MapillaryUS 27 - Mapillary2024US 27 - MapillaryUS 27 - Mapillary2024US 27 - MapillaryUS 27 - Mapillary2024US 27 - MapillaryBelle Glade and South Bay Aerial2017Belle Glade and South Bay AerialSouth Bay FL US 27-SR 80 west022013South Bay FL US 27-SR 80 west02South Bay FL US 27-SR 80 west012013South Bay FL US 27-SR 80 west01South Bay FL US 27-SR 80 south022013South Bay FL US 27-SR 80 south02South Bay FL US 27-SR 80 south012013South Bay FL US 27-SR 80 south01South Bay FL US 27-SR 80 north022013South Bay FL US 27-SR 80 north02South Bay FL US 27-SR 80 north012013South Bay FL US 27-SR 80 north01South Bay FL US 27 south012013South Bay FL US 27 south01South Bay FL US 27 north012013South Bay FL US 27 north01South Bay FL SR 80 east012013South Bay FL SR 80 east01US Highway 27 - Florida2012US Highway 27 - FloridaSouth Bay FL city hall022011South Bay FL city hall02South Bay FL city hall012011South Bay FL city hall01FLMap-doton-SouthBay2004FLMap-doton-SouthBay
On the map

South Bay on the map, 1970 to 1984

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

South Bay on the 1970 USGS mapSouth Bay on the 1984 USGS map1970Belle Glade 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 South Bay.

People over time

South Bay, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0001960198020002020Peak: 4,876

Between 1,050 and 4,876 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

South Bay’s post office has been open since 1919.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hendersons Mobile Home ParkNortmoor Courts Mobile Home ParkStarling Trailer Park

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

Questions about South Bay’s history

What year was South Bay founded?

The South Bay post office opened in 1919, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does South Bay rank for history?

South Bay 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 South Bay?

0.6% of South Bay’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 (19), 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.