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B−History
History · Zephyrhills

Zephyrhills dates to 1888, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #82 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Zephyrhills was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 126 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1947 on, and the census since 1920.

1888founded
2on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Zephyrhills’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Zephyrhills began

When was Zephyrhills founded?

1888

Zephyrhills dates its founding to 1888 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 577 in 19202020 census: 17,194138 years

How historic is Zephyrhills?

B−

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1910.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Zephyrhills’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Zephyrhills is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #82 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Zephyrhills’ overall grade.
Founding era1888, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.3% of homes (±0.9) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 127 historic buildings, 64.6 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 46%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 87%

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 Zephyrhills’ 64.6 sits above most of its state (92% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 127 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% 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 (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1888.

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 Zephyrhills’ past

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

A historic districtThe Zephyrhills Downtown Historic District takes in 126 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 127 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
127
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Capt. Howard B. Jeffries House
Capt. Howard B. Jeffries HouseZephyrhills Downtown Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Frame Vernacular1
Masonry Vernacular1
Late 19th and 20th Century American1
Craftsman1
Modern1
Capt. Howard B. Jeffries HouseVernacular
Zephyrhills Downtown Historic DistrictFrame Vernacular

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

Help out

Start Zephyrhills’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota Cou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Zephyrhills came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Zephyrhills.

Read it all →

Zephyrhills began as the town of Abbott on April 18, 1888, and consisted of 280.74 acres. It was briefly renamed Hegman from 1890 to 1892 until its name was reverted to Abbott. A voting district was established in 1893 followed by a post office in 1896. In 1909, Captain Howard B. Jeffries, a Civil War Union veteran from Pennsylvania, purchased 35,000 acres and created the Zephyrhills Colony Company with a plan to create a community for Civil War veterans. In 1910 the town voted to change its name to Zephyrhills; it was incorporated in 1914.

In 1941, one resident reported that Zephyrhills had a sundown town policy forbidding Black people from living within the city limits.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Zephyrhills, 1888 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888
    FoundingZephyrhills is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910Post officeThe Zephyrhills post office opens
  5. 1940In the archiveFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]
  6. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1951In the archiveZephyrhills Army Airfield - 1951 - Florida
  8. 1964Born hereTed Wilson is born here
  9. 1970Born hereDavid Reutimann is born here
  10. 1979Born hereRyan Pickett is born here
  11. 1987Born hereDomonic Brown is born here
  12. 1999In the archiveZephyrhills Municipal Airport FL 5 Jan 1999
By decade

Zephyrhills, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1940s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s–1950s2 items
Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]1940Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]Zephyrhills Army Airfield - 1951 - Florida1951Zephyrhills Army Airfield - 1951 - Florida
1960s–1980snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1990s1 item
Zephyrhills Municipal Airport FL 5 Jan 19991999Zephyrhills Municipal Airport FL 5 Jan 1999
Today9 recent
Tenneys 12013Tenneys 1SB FL 39 from US 301 in2013SB FL 39 from US 301 inPasco New River Branch2013Pasco New River BranchNew River Library branch in2013New River Library branch inZephyrhills Urbanized Area Map2012Zephyrhills Urbanized Area MapBookEast end FL 54 @ US 3012010East end FL 54 @ US 301Zephyrhills City Hall hall022009Zephyrhills City Hall hall02Zephyrhills City Hall hall012009Zephyrhills City Hall hall01FLMap-doton-Zephyrhills2004FLMap-doton-Zephyrhills
On the map

Zephyrhills on the map, 1947 to 1987

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

Zephyrhills on the 1947 USGS mapZephyrhills on the 1975 USGS mapZephyrhills on the 1987 USGS map1947Zephyrhills 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 Zephyrhills.

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.

Florida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)]
Retake this viewFlorida [Hamilton County - Sarasota County (part)], 1940

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Zephyrhills’ page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Zephyrhills, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,00019201940196019802000202017,194

Grew from 577 people in 1920 to 17,194 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Zephyrhills

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

See all →
David ReutimannAmerican racing driver · b. 1970
Ryan PickettAmerican football player · b. 1979
Domonic BrownAmerican baseball player · b. 1987
T
Ted WilsonAmerican football player · b. 1964
Buzzie ReutimannAmerican racing driver · b. 1941
Danny BurgessFlorida State Representative · b. 1986
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Zephyrhills’s post office has been open since 1910.

Gone or out of use
Zephyrhills Army Air Fieldmilitary
1cemetery inside Zephyrhills
Oakside

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Pasadena HillsIts storyDZephyrhills NorthIts storyDZephyrhills SouthIts storyDZephyrhills WestIts storyD

Questions about Zephyrhills’ history

What year was Zephyrhills founded?

In 1888, according to Wikidata. Zephyrhills’ post office opened in 1910, and the census of 1920 counted 577 people here.

How does Zephyrhills rank for history?

Zephyrhills is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #82 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 Zephyrhills?

Two places: the Capt. Howard B. Jeffries House (listed 1995) and the Zephyrhills Downtown Historic District (2001).

How old are the homes in Zephyrhills?

1% of Zephyrhills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1990.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.