This year, Dunedin turns 100.

Not the town itself—that story goes back much further, to Scottish settlers in the late 1800s and the citrus groves that followed. But on June 1, 1926, something changed. The Town of Dunedin officially became the City of Dunedin, adopting the Commission-Manager form of government that still guides us today.

It is a centennial worth marking.

1926: The Year Everything Shifted

Before 1926, Dunedin was a town. Small. Growing. But by the mid-1920s, the community had reached a point where the old ways of governing no longer fit.

The solution was the Commission-Manager system—a structure that separates policymaking (the elected commission) from day-to-day administration (a professional city manager). It was a modern approach for a town ready to become a city.

On June 1, 1926, that vision became official. Dunedin was incorporated as a city, and the new government took shape.

What Happened That Year

While Dunedin was finding its footing as a city, the world around it was shifting too. A few notes from 1926:

• The nation was in the midst of the Roaring Twenties, with jazz, flappers, and economic optimism
• Charles Lindbergh had not yet made his famous flight—that would come the next year, in 1927, and Dunedin residents would watch newsreels of it at the Dixie Theater
• In Scotland, Viscount Dunedin (Andrew Graham Murray) was honored that same year, a reminder of the Scottish roots in our city’s name 

And here, on the Pinellas County coast, a small town became a city.

A Government That Lasted

One hundred years later, the Commission-Manager system remains in place . That stability is rare. It means that for a full century, Dunedin has been governed under the same structural philosophy—elected leaders setting policy, professional managers executing it.

Today, that government includes:

• Mayor Maureen “Moe” Freaney
• Vice Mayor Robert “Rob” Walker 
• Commissioners Jeff Gow, Tom Dugard, and Steven “Steve” Sandbergen
• City Manager Jennifer K. Bramley 

They are the latest in a long line of public servants stretching back to 1926.

Looking Ahead

There is talk of larger celebrations too. Local historian Vinnie Luisi has proposed working with the city to organize events, including parades and dedications, potentially tying Dunedin’s 100th anniversary to the nation’s 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, also being celebrated in 2026 .

“He proposed working with the city to organize events, including parades and dedications, and suggested a joint celebration with Dunedin’s 100th anniversary as a city,” according to the Rotary Club of Dunedin.

A Personal Note

I love that we still govern ourselves the same way we did in 1926. A hundred years of elections, meetings, budgets, and decisions—all adding up to the Dunedin we know today.

The town became a city. The city became home.

And this year, we get to say: one hundred years. Well done, Dunedin.