The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗De Land was founded in 1873 by Thomas E. Bondurant, a Kentucky native who bought the land from its original owner, Ezra Marquis, and had it laid out as an answer to the needs of the local farmers for a place from which to ship their grain. Before officially being named De Land, the town was known as "Tom's Town" in honor of Thomas Bondurant. The origin of the name De Land is disputed, with most accounts tracing it to either James DeLand, who helped bring the railroad to the area in 1872, or French DeLand, a surveyor who is said to have laid out the town. The village was incorporated in 1899. It has long styled itself "the biggest little town on earth," and celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2023.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Start De Land’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how De Land’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10De Land, decade by decade
2000
Nothing in De Land is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean De Land has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is North State Street Historic District in Monticello, 7.3 miles away.
De Land and the nearest listed places
Closest to De Land
North State Street Historic DistrictMonticello · District7.3mi
Monticello Courthouse Square Historic DistrictMonticello · Brown, Seeley7.7mi
South Charter Street Historic DistrictMonticello · Queen Anne7.9mi
Robert Allerton EstateWillow Branch · Georgian Revival8.5mi
Francis E. Bryant HouseBement · Building14.2miHow a place gets listed
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.