Temple Terrace dates to 1920, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #246 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Temple Terrace was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Its Register listing is the Temple Terrace Golf Course. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1940.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Temple Terrace is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #246 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Temple Terrace’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 Temple Terrace’s 0.4 sits above most of its state (69% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1920.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 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 Temple Terrace’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Spanish exploration of the Temple Terrace area dates back to 1757 when explorer Don Francisco Maria Celi of the Spanish Royal Fleet made his way up the Hillsborough River (naming it "El Rio de San Julian y Arriaga") to what is now Riverhills Park in search of pine trees to use as masts for his ships. Here, in the extensive longleaf pine forest, he erected a cross in what he named "El Pinal de la Cruz de Santa Teresa" (the Pine Forest of the Cross of Saint Theresa). Confirmation of the fleet's travels is found in its map and logbook. A historic marker and a replica of the cross erected to honor St. Theresa are found in Riverhills Park today. Up to 1913, the longleaf pine, sand live oak, and cypress trees made the area suitable for turpentine manufacturing and logging.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Temple Terrace. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1949Sulphur Springs sheet · 1:25,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Temple Terrace.
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.
Retake this viewTemple Terrace Master Plan circa1921, 1922
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Temple Terrace’s page.
In 1920, according to Wikidata. the census of 1940 counted 215 people here.
How does Temple Terrace rank for history?
Temple Terrace is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #246 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 Temple Terrace?
One place: the Temple Terrace Golf Course (listed 2012).
How old are the homes in Temple Terrace?
0.9% of Temple Terrace’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1982.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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