ROOTED HERE
Behind the downtown streets.
A whole city’s story.
Daytona Beach includes historic Beach Street, Midtown culture and working neighborhoods alongside its famous shore.
People made the city.
These milestones are an introduction, not a complete local history. Follow the linked city and museum sources to explore the people and places behind them.Read the local historical account.
Watch the city’s history
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Forgotten Florida: Hidden History of Daytona Beach
A local history film shared by Florida Man .
Watch on YouTube ↗- 1870
Daytona is founded
Matthias D. Day established the community that took his name.
City of Daytona Beach ↗ - 1876
The town incorporates
The original town of Daytona incorporated on July 26.
City of Daytona Beach ↗ - 1902
Automobile racing reaches the beach
Early automobile speed trials began building Daytona's association with motorsports.
City of Daytona Beach ↗ - 1926
Three communities merge
Daytona, Daytona Beach and Seabreeze consolidated under the Daytona Beach name.
City of Daytona Beach ↗ - 1936
Stock cars race the road course
The beach-and-road course hosted the city's first stock-car race.
City of Daytona Beach ↗
See the history for yourself.
Walk downtown to see surviving commercial architecture, then explore the Historical Preservation Society’s museum and visiting information. Check current opening dates before setting out. Historical Preservation Society.
For deeper research, the Daytona Beach library resources is a starting point for archival material and research help. Historic photographs have their own permissions; we link to the collection instead of treating every old image as free to reuse.
Selected milestones researched September 13, 2026. This is an introduction, not a complete account of the city’s history.