More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #387 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Springfield was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1945 on and the census since 1940.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1914.
History grade
What drives Springfield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Springfield is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #387 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 Springfield’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 Springfield’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 still be D. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1935.
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 Springfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Springfield yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Springfield is a city in Bay County, Florida, United States, east of Panama City. It is part of the Panama City–Panama City Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Springfield was incorporated on February 12, 1935. The population was 8,075 at the 2020 census, down from 8,903 at the 2010 census.
Springfield was established in 1935. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 8,903 to 8,075 (-9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Springfield, 1914 to 1948
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1935, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Springfield’s post office opened in 1914, and the census of 1940 counted 1,188 people here.
How does Springfield rank for history?
Springfield is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #387 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 Springfield?
2% of Springfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 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.
