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DHistory
History · The Meadows

Half of The Meadows’ homes were built after 1986

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

Most of The Meadows was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1990.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Quick answers

About The Meadows’ history

How historic is The Meadows?

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 The Meadows’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, The Meadows 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 The Meadows’ overall grade.
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 The Meadows’ 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 (±0.5 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 The Meadows’ past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start The Meadows’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how The Meadows’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 so far

The Meadows, in brief

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

The Meadows is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,037 at the 2020 census, up from 3,994 at the 2010 census. The CDP is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,994 to 5,037 (+26%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

The Meadows on the map, 1947 to 1987

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

The Meadows on the 1947 USGS mapThe Meadows on the 1973 USGS mapThe Meadows on the 1987 USGS map1947Bee Ridge 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 The Meadows.

People over time

The Meadows, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50020002020Peak: 5,037

Between 3,437 and 5,037 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to The Meadows

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

See all →
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Questions about The Meadows’ history

How does The Meadows rank for history?

The Meadows 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 The Meadows?

0.0% of The Meadows’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1986.

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 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.