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DHistory
History · Stock Island

Half of Stock Island’s homes were built after 1980

More historic than 6% of U.S. towns · #449 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Stock Island was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1943 on, and the census since 1980.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
15old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Stock Island’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Stock Island’s history

How historic is Stock Island?

D

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

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Stock Island’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stock Island is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #449 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Stock Island’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.7) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%D−National 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 Stock Island’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. 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 Stock Island’s past

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

Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Lost villages10 hamlets and corners are still on the map.A town in old photos15 old photos, postcards and papers, 1945–1987.
★ What stands out · Then & now

The same spot, 66 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Aerial photographs of Florida MM00032839Aerial photographs of Florida19452011
Aerial photographs of FloridaMatched from the two captions
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Coconut Grove Mobile Home ParkLeo's Trailer ParkLiz's Trailer ParkOverseas Trailer ParkRoy's Trailer ParkSunny Isle Trailer ParkSunset Harbor Trailer VillageTropic Palms Mobile Home ParkWaters Edge Colony Mobile Home ParkWoodsons Trailer Park

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

By decade

Stock Island, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1940s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s1 item
Aerial photographs of Florida1945Aerial photographs of Florida
1950s–1970snothing 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
1980s14 items
Charter boats docked at Oceanside Marina1986Charter boats docked at Oceanside MarinaAerial photographs of Florida MM00034047x1987Aerial photographs of Florida MM00034047xAerial photographs of Florida MM00034084x1987Aerial photographs of Florida MM00034084xAerial photographs of Florida MM00034085x1987Aerial photographs of Florida MM00034085xAerial photographs of Florida MM00034087x1987Aerial photographs of Florida MM00034087xAerial photographs of Florida MM00034088x1987Aerial photographs of Florida MM00034088xAerial photographs of Florida MM00034091x1987Aerial photographs of Florida MM00034091xAerial photographs of Florida MM00034095x1987Aerial photographs of Florida MM00034095xAerial photographs of Florida MM00034102x1987Aerial photographs of Florida MM00034102xAerial photographs of Florida MM00034103x1987Aerial photographs of Florida MM00034103xAerial photographs of Florida MM00034104x1987Aerial photographs of Florida MM00034104xAerial photographs of Florida MM00034105x1987Aerial photographs of Florida MM00034105xAerial photographs of Florida MM00034114x1987Aerial photographs of Florida MM00034114xForbes family yacht, The Highlander1987Forbes family yacht, The Highlander
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
Today9 recent
JPD Ship Roman Tokman2020JPD Ship Roman TokmanMagnificent frigatebird2017Magnificent frigatebirdConch Steak - Rusty Anchor, Key West Florida2017Conch Steak - Rusty Anchor, Key West FloridaOverseas Highway2014Overseas HighwayAerial photographs of Florida MM000328392011Aerial photographs of Florida MM00032839Stockisland2007StockislandKeyhaven2007KeyhavenFlorida Keys Scenic Highway - The Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden on Stock Island, FL, near the Florida K…2007Florida Keys Scenic Highway - The Key West Tropical F…FLMap-doton-StockIsland2004FLMap-doton-StockIsland
The story so far

Stock Island, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Stock Island yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Stock Island is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community on the island of the same name in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The population of the CDP was 4,722 at the 2020 census, up from 3,919 in 2010. It is located on the portion of the island south of US 1. It is supposedly named for the herds of livestock formerly kept there. Alternatively, some local historians suggest that it may be named for an early settler.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,919 to 4,722 (+20%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Stock Island, 1943 to 1986

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1945In the archiveAerial photographs of Florida
  4. 1986In the archiveCharter boats docked at Oceanside Marina
On the map

Stock Island on the map, 1943 to 1983

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

Stock Island on the 1943 USGS mapStock Island on the 1971 USGS mapStock Island on the 1983 USGS map1943Boca Chica 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 Stock Island.

People over time

Stock Island, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000198020002020Peak: 4,722

Between 3,613 and 4,722 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Stock Island

Nobody well known was born in Stock Island itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
David RobinsonAmerican basketball player · b. 1965
Fats NavarroAmerican jazz trumpeter · b. 1923
Stepin FetchitAfrican-American actor · b. 1902
Richard N. RichardsAmerican astronaut · b. 1946
Jack MitchellAmerican photographer and author · b. 1925
Help out

Finish Stock Island’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAerial photographs of Florida: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Key West19 historic placesA

Questions about Stock Island’s history

How does Stock Island rank for history?

Stock Island is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #449 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 Stock Island?

0.0% of Stock Island’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 (24), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.