Benson’s post office opened in 1880, and 9 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #14 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Benson was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. 9 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 59 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1890.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Benson is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #14 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Benson’s overall grade.
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 Benson’s 126 sits above most of its state (95% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 68 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 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 Benson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Benson, building by building, 1886–1909
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The city was founded in 1880 when the Southern Pacific Railroad came through. It was named after Judge William S. Benson, a friend of Charles Crocker, president of the Southern Pacific. The railroad, coming overland from California, chose the Benson site to cross the San Pedro River. Benson then served as a rail junction point to obtain ore and refined metal by wagon, in turn shipping rail freight back to the mines at Tombstone, Fairbank, Contention City and Bisbee. For example, the railhead in Benson was about 25 miles (40 km) from Tombstone, and was the closest rail connection to it until 1882, when a feeder line was laid from Benson to Contention City.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Grew from 348 people in 1890 to 5,355 in 2020, more than tenfold.
13 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Benson’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Benson’s post office has been open since 1880.
Hamlets and corners on the map
San Pedro Mobile Home ParkWhetstone
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Benson
7th StreetCochise Gardens of RestHigh Street
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Benson’s history
What year was Benson founded?
The Benson post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Benson rank for history?
Benson is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #14 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 Benson?
9 listings: 6 buildings and 3 historic districts, the Apache Powder Historic Residential District, the Benson Railroad Historic District and the Benson Historic Barrio, with 59 contributing buildings. 68 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Benson?
5% of Benson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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2024
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