Most of Canyon Day was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1954 on.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Canyon Day is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Canyon Day’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 Canyon Day’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (29% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Canyon Day’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Canyon Day yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Canyon Day (Western Apache: Yangongai) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Gila County, Arizona, United States, on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. The population was 1,209 at the 2010 census.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,209 in 2010, 1,205 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
Canyon Day, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Fort Apache Junction
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Canyon Day’s history
How does Canyon Day rank for history?
Canyon Day is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Canyon Day?
2% of Canyon Day’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
1989
2011
