8 of Whitfield’s places are on the National Register
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #36 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Whitfield was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1990.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Whitfield is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #36 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Whitfield’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 Whitfield’s 56.3 sits above most of its state (92% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 24 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±5.5 points).
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 Whitfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Whitfield Estates was formerly a 682-acre (276 ha) wooded area that had been homesteaded by General John Riggin, aide-de-camp to Ulysses S. Grant. The property included the 218-acre (88 ha) bayfront estate of Alfred Ringling. In 1924, the property was purchased from Richard T. Ringling, son of Alfred, by a corporation called Whitfield Estates, Inc., held by Louis Broughton Whitfield, D. G. Haley, E. H. Price, and E. S. Delaplane Jr., who were from Alabama.
Whitfield is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #36 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 Whitfield?
8 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Whitfield Estates-Broughton Street Historic District (listed 1993, the first), and 1 historic district, the Whitfield Estates Lantana Avenue Historic District, with 6 contributing buildings. 24 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Whitfield?
5% of Whitfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.
