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DHistory
History · Treasure Island

Treasure Island was first counted by the census in 1950

More historic than 10% of U.S. towns · #345 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Treasure Island was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: maps from 1974 on and the census since 1950.

1950first census
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Boykinspanieling · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Treasure Island began

When was Treasure Island founded?

1950

Treasure Island first appears in the census in 1950. Another post office, Boca Ciega (1912), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 75 in 19502020 census: 6,58476 years

How historic is Treasure Island?

D

More historic than 10% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Treasure Island’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Treasure Island is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #345 of 638 in Florida. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Treasure Island’s overall grade.
Founding era1950, from the first census: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19404.7% of homes (±2.2) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 10%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 46%

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 Treasure 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 Treasure Island’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Treasure Island are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Treasure Island, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Treasure Island’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Boca Ciega, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Boca CiegaSunset BeachSunshine Beach

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Treasure Island came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Treasure Island.

Read it all →

The area of Treasure Island was originally settled in small communities by the Tocobaga around 300 CE. The Timucua traded with other Native American tribes in the area until the arrival of Pánfilo de Narváez in 1528. De Narváez decimated the indigenous people before leaving the area in search of gold.

Treasure Island got its name early in the 20th century, after several property owners attempted to boost sales of the properties being developed on the island by first burying and then pretending to discover a couple of wooden chests on the beach around 1915. After claiming the chests were filled with treasure, the news of the discovery quickly spread and people began calling the island Treasure Island.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Treasure Island, 1912 to 1974

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1912Post officeThe Boca Ciega post office opens
  3. 1912Post officeThe Boca Ciega post office closes
  4. 1974On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Treasure Island, decade by decade

Today24 recent
Treasure Island Beach2019Treasure Island Beach20mph with NEW signs - 108th Avenue201920mph with NEW signs - 108th AvenueThe Fisherman Treasure Island Florida Black And White Street Photography2017The Fisherman Treasure Island Florida Black And White…Please don't feed the birds, Sunset Beach2016Please don't feed the birds, Sunset BeachBuilding a sand sculpture, Sunset Beach2016Building a sand sculpture, Sunset BeachTreasure Island,Florida,USA2015Treasure Island,Florida,USATipic2015TipicSunset Beach,Treasure Island,Florida,USA2015Sunset Beach,Treasure Island,Florida,USASunset Beach,Treasure Island,Florida,USA. - panoramio (2)2015Sunset Beach,Treasure Island,Florida,USA. - panoramio…Sunset Beach,Treasure Island,Florida,USA. - panoramio (1)2015Sunset Beach,Treasure Island,Florida,USA. - panoramio…Spiaggia di Treasure Island (2014)2014Spiaggia di Treasure Island (2014)Cartello dI Treasure Island (2014)2014Cartello dI Treasure Island (2014)The John's Pass Boardwalk, Madeira Beach, view from2013The John's Pass Boardwalk, Madeira Beach, view fromSign Entering Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, Florida, Oct 20132013Sign Entering Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, Florida,…Row Row under the bridge... - Rame rame donc2013Row Row under the bridge... - Rame rame doncPirate keeping the treasure in community Park2013Pirate keeping the treasure in community ParkBilmar hotel treasure island florida b2013Bilmar hotel treasure island florida bAllied insurance building on treasure island florida january 2013 012013Allied insurance building on treasure island florida …Catching the fish under the bridge while the sunset. - Pêcher sous le pont pendant que le soleil se couche2012Catching the fish under the bridge while the sunset. …Sunset Beach2010Sunset BeachSunset Beach - panoramio (2)2010Sunset Beach - panoramio (2)Sunset Beach - panoramio (1)2010Sunset Beach - panoramio (1)Tęcza nad2009Tęcza nadFLMap-doton-TreasureIsland2004FLMap-doton-TreasureIsland
On the map

Treasure Island on the map, 1974 to 1995

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

Treasure Island on the 1974 USGS mapTreasure Island on the 1987 USGS mapTreasure Island on the 1995 USGS map1974Seminole 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 Treasure Island.

People over time

Treasure Island, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001960198020002020Peak: 7,450

Between 75 and 7,450 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

St. Pete Beach2 historic placesC+St. Petersburg32 historic placesB+Madeira BeachIts storyC−

Questions about Treasure Island’s history

What year was Treasure Island founded?

The Treasure Island post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Treasure Island rank for history?

Treasure Island is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #345 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 Treasure Island?

5% of Treasure Island’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1970.

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