Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Starke

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
B−History
History · Starke

Starke’s post office opened in 1857, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns · #70 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Starke was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 23 buildings. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.

1857first post office
3on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Starke’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Starke began

When was Starke founded?

1857

The Starke post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 292 in 18802020 census: 5,796169 years

How historic is Starke?

B−

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Starke’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Starke is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #70 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Starke’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.6% of homes (±3.5) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 25 historic buildings, 42.5 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 89%

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 Starke’s 42.5 sits above most of its state (90% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 25 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). 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 Starke’s past

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

Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1920, drew every building in Starke.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers.A historic districtThe Call Street Historic District takes in 23 historic buildings.Famous sons and daughtersJudy Canova, Charley Eugene Johns and 7 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Every building

Starke, building by building, 1885–1920

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Starke fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Starke, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s18 items
Carpenters and construction workers waiting outside Florida1940Carpenters and construction workers waiting outside F…Boomtown, defense area. Starke, Florida1940Boomtown, defense area. Starke, FloridaConstruction worker playing pool. Starke, Florida1940Construction worker playing pool. Starke, FloridaSoldiers on street corner1940Soldiers on street cornerWrecked car of construction worker. Starke, Florida1940Wrecked car of construction worker. Starke, FloridaWrecked cars of construction workers. Starke, Florida1940Wrecked cars of construction workers. Starke, FloridaFurniture and belongings of construction workers. Starke, Florida1940Furniture and belongings of construction workers. Sta…Street corner1940Street cornerLiving quarters of construction workers near Camp Blanding. Starke, Florida1940Living quarters of construction workers near Camp Bla…Living quarters of construction workers near Camp Blanding. Starke, Florida1940Living quarters of construction workers near Camp Bla…Army transport in front of remodeled theatre1940Army transport in front of remodeled theatreReconstruction taking place on main street of village. Starke, Florida, boomtown1940Reconstruction taking place on main street of village…Trailers where workers live in backyard of private home1940Trailers where workers live in backyard of private ho…Sign: eight stores to be built on corner1940Sign: eight stores to be built on cornerUntitled photo, possibly related to: Wrecked car of construction worker. Starke, Florida1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Wrecked car of c…Construction workers drinking beer in Soldier's Joy Cafe near Camp Blanding1940Construction workers drinking beer in Soldier's Joy C…New sleeping quarters and cafe for construction workers near Camp Blanding. Starke, Florida1940New sleeping quarters and cafe for construction worke…Carpenters and construction workers waiting outside Florida state employment office trying to get jobs on Camp Blanding…1940Carpenters and construction workers waiting outside F…
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
On the National Register

3 listings protect 25 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
25
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Old Bradford County Courthouse
Old Bradford County CourthouseCall Street Historic DistrictWoman's Club of Starke
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque Revival2
Masonry Vernacular1
Neoclassical1
Craftsman/Bungalow1
Old Bradford County CourthouseRomanesque Revival
Call Street Historic DistrictMasonry Vernacular
Woman's Club of StarkeCraftsman/Bungalow

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Starke came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Starke.

Read it all →

Prior to 1857, the area that is today Starke was sparsely settled. The announcement of the Fernandina to Cedar Key railroad, which would connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico, brought the first known settlement to the community.

In November 1857, the first post office in the area was established by George W. Cole. In 1859, Cole obtained 40 acres (16 ha) of land around the post office, which were described in his documents as the "Original Town of Starke."

ChaptersFounding and 19th century20th and 21st centuriesStarke Utilities

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Starke, 1857 to 1949

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Starke post office opens
  3. 1861Born hereEdward A. Pace is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1905Born hereCharley Eugene Johns is born here
  6. 1913Born hereJudy Canova is born here
  7. 1928Born hereDoyle Conner is born here
  8. 1940In the archiveCarpenters and construction workers waiting outside Florida
  9. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Starke on the map, 1949 to 1991

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

Starke on the 1949 USGS mapStarke on the 1970 USGS mapStarke on the 1991 USGS map1949Starke 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 Starke.

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.

Carpenters and construction workers waiting outside Florida
Retake this viewCarpenters and construction workers waiting outside Florida, 1940

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Starke’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Starke, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,000188019001920194019601980200020205,796

Grew from 292 people in 1880 to 5,796 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Starke

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Judy CanovaAmerican comedian, actress, singer, and radio p… · b. 1913
Charley Eugene JohnsAmerican politician · b. 1905
Edward A. PaceAmerican priest and educator · b. 1861
Doyle ConnerAmerican politician · b. 1928
Ben SternbergUnited States Army general · b. 1914
L
Leon BrightAmerican football player · b. 1955
Help out

Finish Starke’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCarpenters and construction workers wai…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Starke’s history

What year was Starke founded?

The Starke post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Starke rank for history?

Starke is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #70 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.

What is on the National Register in Starke?

Three places: the Old Bradford County Courthouse (listed 1974), the Call Street Historic District (1985) and the Woman's Club of Starke (1997).

How old are the homes in Starke?

5% of Starke’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 (1), the Library of Congress (17), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.