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History · Florida

Florida’s post office opened in 1843, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1880.

1843first post office

0on the National Register

29%homes built before 1940

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Photo: Nyttend · Public domain

Quick answers

How Florida began

When was Florida founded?

1843

The Florida post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, McLain (1836), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 245 in 18802020 census: 215183 years

Founding year: the first Florida post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Florida’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 Florida are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 304 in 1990; 215 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19083 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1971. Watch Florida change.Deep rootsA post office since 1843: 183 years of Florida.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Florida’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Florida’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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People over time

Florida, census by census

Peaked at 304 in 1990; 215 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Florida on the map, 1908 to 1971

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

1908Napoleon 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 Florida.

The story

How Florida came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Florida.

Read it all →

Prior to European settlement Florida was the site of American Indian villages. The most notable village site was called Snake Town, established in 1792 and named after the Shawnee leader Snake (or Peteusha). Snake Town was located along the Maumee River and was at one time home to the war chief Blue Jacket of the Shawnee, white chief Simon Girty, and trader James Girty. A trading post operated by James Girty was located on the northern bank of the Maumee River across from Girty's Island.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Florida, 1820–1892

Passages that mention Florida, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Hitherto Jackson's operations had beenconfined to the province of East Florida. On the tenth of May, 1818, he began his invasion of West Florida by crossing the Appalachicola river at the Indian village of Ochesee. Thence he folio wed a trail which led him over the natural bridge of the Chipola riv… — **Historical sketches of colonial Florida**1892 · page 252Read the page →
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Hitherto Jackson's operations had beenconfined to the province of East Florida. On the tenth of May, 1818, he began his invasion of West Florida by crossing the Appalachicola river at the Indian village of Ochesee. Thence he folio wed a trail which led him over the natural bridge of the Chipola river — a bridge which it would be difficult for the wayfarer to
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Peace, however, was of short duration. The French possessed Canada, and had made considerable settlements at Florida, claiming the country on both sides of the Mississippi, by right of discovery. To secure and extend their claims, they established a line of forts from Canada to Florida. They had se… — **A geographical, historical, commercial, and agricultural view of the United States of America**1820 · page 141Read the page →
Read the text
Peace, however, was of short duration. The French possessed Canada, and had made considerable settlements at Florida, claiming the country on both sides of the Mississippi, by right of discovery. To secure and extend their claims, they established a line of forts from Canada to Florida. They had secured the important pass at Niagara, and erected a fort at the junction of the Allegany and Monongahela rivers, called fort du Quesne, the identical
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

But where were the eastern boundary of Louisiana, and the western limit of Florida to be fixed? Had the French expedition under Iberville reached Florida before Arriola's, Pensacola would have been included in Louisiana, and afterwards in the State of Alabama. But Arriola's settlement was first, in… — **Historical sketches of colonial Florida**1892 · page 34Read the page →
Read the text
But where were the eastern boundary of Louisiana, and the western limit of Florida to be fixed? Had the French expedition under Iberville reached Florida before Arriola's, Pensacola would have been included in Louisiana, and afterwards in the State of Alabama. But Arriola's settlement was first, in point of time; and it is to him must be attributed the estab-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Florida, 1836 to 1990

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

19th century
1836Post officeThe McLain post office opens
1843Post officeThe McLain post office closes
1843Post officeThe Florida post office opens
20th century
1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1919Post officeThe Florida post office closes
1990CensusPopulation peaks at 304

By decade

Florida, decade by decade

Today5 recent

2015High east of Henry in

2015Florida United Methodist Church from southeast

2015Flat Rock Township School

2015Map of Henry County Ohio Highlighting Florida VillageMap

2004OHMap-doton-Florida

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Florida had its own post office from 1843 to 1919. Another post office, McLain, opened and closed inside today’s town.

McLain

1836–1843

Florida

1843–1919

18301930today

Gone or out of use

Florida High SchoolschoolFlorida Post Officepost office

1cemetery inside Florida

Florida

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

Questions about Florida’s history

What year was Florida founded?

The Florida post office opened in 1843, 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 →

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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