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C+History
History · Windermere

Windermere’s post office opened in 1888, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #121 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Windermere was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1930.

1888first post office
3on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Windermere began

When was Windermere founded?

1888

The Windermere post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1889.

First census: 181 in 19302020 census: 3,030138 years

How historic is Windermere?

C+

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Windermere post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1889.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Windermere’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Windermere is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #121 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Windermere’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.6% of homes (±2.1) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register3 listings, 9.7 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 38%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 81%

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 Windermere’s 9.7 sits above most of its state (85% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1889 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Windermere’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 Windermere are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Windermere’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Windermere’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
The story

How Windermere came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Windermere.

Read it all →

In 1887, the town was founded by John Dawe, an Englishman who platted the community and named it after Windermere, a lake in the Lake District in Cumbria, England.

A post office opened in Windermere in 1888. The post office closed in 1901, and reopened in 1911. Windermere was established as a residential development in 1889.

The Town of Windermere was officially incorporated as a municipality on February 2, 1925.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Windermere, 1888 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Windermere post office opens
  3. 1890Built1890 Windermere School is built
  4. 20th century
  5. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1988Born hereDee Strange-Gordon is born here
  7. 1994Born hereEthan Ringel is born here
By decade

Windermere, decade by decade

Today17 recent
Lake Down Park2025Lake Down ParkThe Grove2024The GroveThe Grove Orlando2024The Grove OrlandoWindermere-Floride-Coat-of-arms-byRundvald2023Windermere-Floride-Coat-of-arms-byRundvald2023 OCPS Spring College Fair at Windermere High School gym - 220232023 OCPS Spring College Fair at Windermere High Scho…2023 OCPS Spring College Fair at Windermere High School gym - 120232023 OCPS Spring College Fair at Windermere High Scho…Panera Bread2016Panera BreadWalmart Neighborhood Market2015Walmart Neighborhood MarketThe Grove Shopping Plaza2015The Grove Shopping PlazaSubway2015SubwayCVS2015CVSRoad photo from October 3, 2004 132004Road photo from October 3, 2004 13Road photo from October 3, 2004 122004Road photo from October 3, 2004 12Road photo from October 3, 2004 112004Road photo from October 3, 2004 11Road photo from October 3, 2004 102004Road photo from October 3, 2004 10Road photo from October 3, 2004 092004Road photo from October 3, 2004 09Road photo from October 3, 2004 082004Road photo from October 3, 2004 08
On the map

Windermere on the map, 1953 to 1980

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

Windermere on the 1953 USGS mapWindermere on the 1970 USGS mapWindermere on the 1980 USGS map1953Windermere 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 Windermere.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Windermere

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Windermere Town Hall
Windermere Town HallPalmer, Cal, Memorial Building1890 Windermere School, built 1890
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Frame Vernacular2
Colonial Revival1
Windermere Town HallColonial Revival
Palmer, Cal, Memorial BuildingFrame Vernacular
1890 Windermere SchoolFrame Vernacular · Built 1890

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Windermere, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000194019601980200020203,030

Grew from 181 people in 1930 to 3,030 in 2020, more than tenfold.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Windermere

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Dee Strange-GordonAmerican baseball player · b. 1988
E
Ethan RingelRacing driver · b. 1994
Places that used to be

Old corners

Windermere’s post office has been open since 1888.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Lake Butler

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

Questions about Windermere’s history

What year was Windermere founded?

The Windermere post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1889.

How does Windermere rank for history?

Windermere is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #121 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 Windermere?

Three places: the Windermere Town Hall (listed 1994), the Palmer, Cal, Memorial Building (1995) and the 1890 Windermere School (2003).

How old are the homes in Windermere?

2% of Windermere’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1989.

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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.