Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1804.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Florida’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Florida is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #302 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Florida’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Florida’s 24.2 sits near the middle of its state (59% of New York towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1760.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 points).
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 Florida’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area had been occupied by indigenous peoples for thousands of years.
The part of the Wawayanda Patent which contained the present day village was known as the Florida Tract. The initial settlement on the site was known as Brookland but was given its current name in the 1760s. It was incorporated in 1946.
Florida is in a farming area known for the vast onion fields in the nearby Black Dirt Region.
Local radio station, WTBQ was located in Florida from 1984 to 2007, on Main Street, in the white professional bldg, across from S.S. Seward. The station is currently located two miles south of the Village of Warwick.
In 1760, according to Wikidata. Florida’s post office opened in 1804, and the census of 1870 counted 459 people here.
How does Florida rank for history?
Florida is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #302 of 758 in New York. 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 Florida?
16% of Florida’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (9), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1875
2018
2018
2008
2008
2007
2007
2007