More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #261 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of South Daytona was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1940.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1942.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives South Daytona’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Daytona is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #261 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 South Daytona’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 South Daytona’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1878.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Daytona’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
South Daytona had its own post office from 1942 to 1950.
South Daytona
1942–1950
19401980today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Blue Skies Mobile Home VillageBlue Villa Mobile Home ParkCandlelight Manor Mobile Home EstatesDaytona Twin Oaks Mobile Home ParkLakeview Estates Mobile Home ParkRa Mar Mobile Home ParkReed Canal Trailer ParkSuwannee Mobile Home ParkWaters Edge Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside South Daytona
Pine Ridge African American
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
South Daytona was once a town called Blake (named after wealthy Boston businessman Alpheus P. Blake), with some forty resident families and as many more non-resident property holders. Many of the early settlers profitably engaged in orange culture and vegetable gardening. According to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., Blake opened its first post office on August 19, 1878. Then c. 1886, the first train came as far as Daytona, and ten years later the line was extended to Miami. Soon thereafter, a railroad station was built at Big Tree Crossing.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of South Daytona. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Daytona Beach 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 Daytona.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewFlorida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingham County (part)], 1940
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on South Daytona’s page.
In 1878, according to Wikidata. South Daytona’s post office opened in 1942, and the census of 1940 counted 571 people here.
How does South Daytona rank for history?
South Daytona is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #261 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 Daytona?
1% of South Daytona’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1976.
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.
![Florida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingham County (part)]](https://images.townratings.com/story/2218/dd12e4ecdefb564eac5e-s.jpg)
1940
2023
2023
2023
![Florida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingham County (part)]](https://images.townratings.com/story/2218/7aed06cb56e9e6b2b37c-l.jpg)