Avondale’s post office opened in 1911, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #70 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Avondale was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Its Register listing is the Initial Point of the Gila and Salt River Base Line and Meridian. Below: maps from 1946 on and the census since 1920.
The Avondale post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Coldwater (1897), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 517 in 19202020 census: 89,334115 years
How historic is Avondale?
C−
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Avondale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Avondale’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Avondale is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #70 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Avondale’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Avondale ranks #362 on History.
Few Arizona towns list much on the Register (a typical Arizona town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Avondale’s 0.1 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Avondale’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Avondale’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Avondale had its own post office from 1911 to 1975. Another post office, Coldwater, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Coldwater
1897–1905
Avondale
1911–1975
Cashion
1911–today
Litchfield Park
1923–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Byrds Mobile Home ParkByrds Mobile ParkCashionCentral Mobile Home ParkCountry Hills Mobile EstatesCountry Manor Mobile Home ParkCountry VillaCountry Villa Mobile Home ParkCountry West Mobile Home ParkEstrella Villa Mobile Home ParkPalm West Mobile Home ParkPecan Tree Park Mobile Home ParkTrail-R-Dale Mobile Home ParkWigwam Villa Mobile Home ParkWinnwood Homes
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Avondale
Goodyear Farms HistoricHoly Cross
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Avondale’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Avondale’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
William "Billy" G. Moore arrived in Arizona in the late 1860s, settling near the Agua Fria River in 1880. Moore called bought land and named his settlement "Coldwater, Arizona" - apparently for both the river and the water that flowed from a local spring. He served a brief stint as justice of the peace for the Agua Fria area. He eventually established a stage stop near Agua Fria crossing, the Coldwater Stage Station in the 1880s. This was one of the earliest stage stations in the region, supplying travelers with provisions on their way from Tucson to northern Arizona and California. A saloon and a general store were also built, bringing in more commerce for the settlement.
The Avondale post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Avondale rank for history?
Avondale is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #70 of 140 in Arizona. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Avondale?
One place: the Initial Point of the Gila and Salt River Base Line and Meridian (listed 2002).
How old are the homes in Avondale?
0.9% of Avondale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 2002.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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