Founding year: the first Tangerine post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Tangerine’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tangerine is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #164 of 638 in Florida. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tangerine’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 Tangerine’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 C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±12.1 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 Tangerine’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Dudley W. Adams arrives at what is known as the "Olaville" settlement in Northwest Orange County, Florida.
During a neighborhood meeting at the home of Miss Bessie Heustis, sister-in-law of Mr. Adams, the name of Olaville is changed to Tangerine, the group being inspired by the fruit of the tree that grew by her doorstep.
The Congregational Church is founded as the Union Church of Christ in Tangerine. Shortly thereafter, the name is changed to the Congregational Church of Christ and a church building is constructed. In the 1940s, the church is named Tangerine Community Church.
The Tangerine Improvement Society (TIS) is founded by local Tangerine women. Men are later admitted in 1920.
The Tangerine post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Tangerine rank for history?
Tangerine is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #164 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 Tangerine?
10% of Tangerine’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.1 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
