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D−History
History · Tamarac

Tamarac dates to 1963

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns · #608 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Tamarac was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1970.

1963founded
0on the National Register
0.2%homes built before 1940
Photo: Tamarac · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Tamarac began

When was Tamarac founded?

1963

Tamarac dates its founding to 1963 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 5,193 in 19702020 census: 71,89763 years

How historic is Tamarac?

D−

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Tamarac’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tamarac is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #608 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 Tamarac’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 2%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 5%

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 Tamarac’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 1963.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 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 Tamarac’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tamarac’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tamarac’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The story

How Tamarac came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tamarac.

Read it all →

In the early 1960s a young developer named Ken Behring came from the Midwest and bought land where he could, creating an active adult community of two-bedroom maintenance-free homes. He called his new city Tamarac, named after the nearby Tamarac Country Club in Oakland Park.

In 1963, Behring built and Jesse Pilch sold the city's first development east of State Road 7, Tamarac Lakes Section One and Section Two. Next came homes built on a former orange grove called Tamarac Lakes North and Tamarac Lakes Boulevard. Four of Behring's last developments were Tamarac Lakes South, then the Mainlands of Tamarac Lakes just west of State Road 7, and finally the Woodlands community.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Tamarac, decade by decade

On the map

Tamarac on the map, 1956 to 1985

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

Tamarac on the 1956 USGS mapTamarac on the 1985 USGS map1956West Palm Beach sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Tamarac.

People over time

Tamarac, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,00019802000202071,897

Grew from 5,193 people in 1970 to 71,897 in 2020, more than tenfold.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Tamarac Post Officepost office

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Questions about Tamarac’s history

What year was Tamarac founded?

In 1963, according to Wikidata. the census of 1970 counted 5,193 people here.

How does Tamarac rank for history?

Tamarac is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #608 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 Tamarac?

0.2% of Tamarac’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.