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History · Steinhatchee

Steinhatchee’s post office opened in 1938, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Steinhatchee was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Its Register listing is the Mittendorf House.

1938first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Steinhatchee began

When was Steinhatchee founded?

1938

The Steinhatchee post office opened in 1938, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Stephensville (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,04988 years
Founding year: the first Steinhatchee post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Steinhatchee’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 Steinhatchee are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Steinhatchee’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Steinhatchee’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 Steinhatchee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Steinhatchee.

Read it all →

Since the early 19th century, the village of Steinhatchee played an integral part in the foresting industry, particularly cedar used for making pencils, as well as fishing, crabbing and scalloping. The Steinhatchee River also flows by the community and into the Gulf of Mexico.

In August 2023, Hurricane Idalia impacted the community, with a storm surge of 6 feet and 80+ mph winds.

In August 2024, Hurricane Debby made landfall near Steinhatchee as a Category 1 hurricane, with winds up to 80 mph.

In September 2024, Steinhatchee was severely impacted by Hurricane Helene. The community experienced a storm surge that exceeded 20 feet.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Steinhatchee, 1879 to 1938

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Stephensville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1931Post officeThe Stephensville post office closes
  5. 1936Born hereFran Carlton is born here
  6. 1938Post officeThe Steinhatchee post office opens
By decade

Steinhatchee, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Florida National Guard2023Florida National GuardFlorida National Guard2023Florida National GuardFlorida National Guard2023Florida National GuardFlorida National Guard (Idalia response)2023Florida National Guard (Idalia response)Steinhatchee Florida Aerial2018Steinhatchee Florida AerialSteinhatchee FL River east022011Steinhatchee FL River east02
On the National Register

1 historic place in Steinhatchee

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2021
Mittendorf House
Mittendorf House
Buildings
All 1 listings
Mittendorf HouseBuilding · listed 2021

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Steinhatchee’s post office has been open since 1938. Another post office, Stephensville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Stephensville
1879–1931
Steinhatchee
1938–today
18701950today

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

Questions about Steinhatchee’s history

What year was Steinhatchee founded?

The Steinhatchee post office opened in 1938, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Steinhatchee?

One place: the Mittendorf House (listed 2021).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.