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History · Gainesville

Gainesville’s post office opened in 1823, and 81% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1830.

1823first post office
0on the National Register
81%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: Pollinator (Uploads) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Gainesville began

When was Gainesville founded?

1823

The Gainesville post office opened in 1823, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,820 in 18302020 census: 211203 years
Founding year: the first Gainesville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Gainesville’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 Gainesville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Gainesville’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19053 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1972. Watch Gainesville change.Deep rootsA post office since 1823: 203 years of Gainesville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gainesville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Gainesville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gainesville.

Read it all →

The Town of Gainesville was established in 1814 from part of the Town of Warsaw. The original name was "Hebe."

The Town of Gainesville is the birthplace of David Starr Jordan, the first president of Stanford University; as well as Ella Hawley Crossett, prominent activist in the women's suffrage movement.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Gainesville on the map, 1905 to 1972

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

Gainesville on the 1905 USGS mapGainesville on the 1943 USGS mapGainesville on the 1972 USGS map1905Portage sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gainesville.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

Gainesville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0001850190019502000Peak: 2,690

Between 1,612 and 2,690 people in every census since 1830.

19 censuses, 1830–2010.

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

Questions about Gainesville’s history

What year was Gainesville founded?

The Gainesville post office opened in 1823, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.