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C−History
History · Chandler

Chandler’s post office opened in 1912, and 10 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #58 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it

Most of Chandler was built recently: 0.1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. 10 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 81 buildings between them. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1930.

1912first post office
10on the National Register
0.1%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
27famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chandler’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Chandler began

When was Chandler founded?

1912

The Chandler post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,378 in 19302020 census: 275,987114 years

How historic is Chandler?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Chandler post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Chandler’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chandler is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #58 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chandler’s overall grade.
Founding era1912, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.1% of homes (±0.1) · typical AZ town 0.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register10 listings, 86 historic buildings, 3.1 per 10,000 residents · typical AZ town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 23%
NewerOlder
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 59%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Chandler ranks #337 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 Chandler’s 3.1 sits above most of its state (68% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 86 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Chandler’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 (±0.1 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 Chandler’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages52 hamlets and corners are still on the map.A historic districtThe Silk Stocking Neighborhood Historic District takes in 63 historic buildings.A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers, 1920–1985.Landmarks on the Register10 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Chandler’s post office has been open since 1912.

Hamlets and corners on the map
A and F Trailer CourtAlta MiraAmberwood IIBridgeportBrighton PlaceCanyon RunCasa LindaCasas del Campo Mobile Home ParkCedar RidgeCentral RidgeChandler Gardens Mobile Home ParkChandler Meadows Mobile Home ParkCloverleafColonial CoronitaCorona VillageCrestviewElmwood Trailer ParkEsplanadaEvergreen Villa Mobile Home ParkGlenview EstatesGreen Tree Mobile Home ParkHamilton CornerHeatherbrookHightown
Gone or out of use
Ecotech Agricultural Charter Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Chandler
Goodyear - Ocotillo

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the National Register

10 listings protect 86 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
10
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
86
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Snaketown
San Marcos HotelSuhwaro HotelChandler Commercial Historic DistrictChandler High School, built 1914Railroad Steam Wrecking Crane and Tool CarMcCullough-Price House, built 1938Silk Stocking Neighborhood Historic DistrictTucson, Cornelia and Gila Bend Railroad Caboose No. 15Southern Pacific Railroad Locomotive No. SP 2562 and Tender No. 8365
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals3
Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival2
Mission Revival1
Commercial Style1
Classical Revival1
Spanish Colonial Revival1
San Marcos HotelMission Revival
Suhwaro HotelLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Chandler Commercial Historic DistrictMission/Spanish Colonial Revival
Chandler High SchoolLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals · Built 1914
Railroad Steam Wrecking Crane and Tool CarStructure
McCullough-Price HouseLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals · Built 1938
Silk Stocking Neighborhood Historic DistrictDistrict
All 10 listings
Tucson, Cornelia and Gila Bend Railroad Caboose No. 15StructureSnaketownDistrict · listed 1966Southern Pacific Railroad Locomotive No. SP 2562 and Tender No. 8365Structure · listed 2009

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

By decade

Chandler, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1930s14 items
Untitled photo1920Untitled photoOcotillo camp photo no. 1. Courtesy Brian Spencer & the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, Arizona1929Ocotillo camp photo no. 1. Courtesy Brian Spencer & t…Chandler, Arizona. Apartment kitchen1936Chandler, Arizona. Apartment kitchenInterior view of kitchen. Chandler, Arizona. Apartments1936Interior view of kitchen. Chandler, Arizona. Apartmen…Apartment building. Chandler tract, Arizona1936Apartment building. Chandler tract, ArizonaApartment buildings. Chandler tract, Arizona1936Apartment buildings. Chandler tract, ArizonaApartment building. Chandler tract, Arizona1936Apartment building. Chandler tract, ArizonaCommunity building. Chandler tract, Arizona. Adobe construction1936Community building. Chandler tract, Arizona. Adobe co…Chandler tract, Arizona. Apartment building, interior view1936Chandler tract, Arizona. Apartment building, interior…Backyard view of community building. Adobe construction. Chandler tract, Arizona1936Backyard view of community building. Adobe constructi…Apartment building1936Apartment buildingDaughter of Mexican field laborer. Near Chandler, Arizona1937Daughter of Mexican field laborer. Near Chandler, Ari…Housing for Mexican field laborers. Typical of the Southwest. Near Chandler, Arizona1937Housing for Mexican field laborers. Typical of the So…Drought refugee families are now mingling with and supplanting Mexican laborers in the Southwest. Chandler, Arizona1937Drought refugee families are now mingling with and su…
1940s2 items
Chandler, Arizona. The kitchen in one of the houses at Chandler Farms, a Farm Security Administration part-time farming…1940Chandler, Arizona. The kitchen in one of the houses a…Chandler, Arizona. Stairs and storage in one of the houses at Chandler Farms, a Farm Security Administration part-time …1940Chandler, Arizona. Stairs and storage in one of the h…
1950s–1970snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1980s1 item
Landsat View, Chandler, Arizona - Flickr - NASA Goddard Photo and Video1985Landsat View, Chandler, Arizona - Flickr - NASA Godda…
1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today6 recent
The queen is oxidizing2007The queen is oxidizingIntel Fab 12, Fab 22, Fab 322007Intel Fab 12, Fab 22, Fab 32Chandler Arizona aerial2007Chandler Arizona aerialActual is not normal (a tribute to Edward Tufte)2007Actual is not normal (a tribute to Edward Tufte)AJ Chandler Park2007AJ Chandler ParkCCA Main Stage2005CCA Main Stage
The story

How Chandler came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chandler.

Read it all →

In 1891, Alexander J. Chandler, a Canadian and the first veterinary surgeon in the Arizona Territory, settled on a ranch south of Mesa and studied irrigation engineering. By 1900, he had acquired 18,000 acres (73 km2) of land and began drawing up plans for a town-site on what was then known as the Chandler Ranch. The town-site office opened on May 16, 1912.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chandler, 1912 to 1996

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1912Post officeThe Chandler post office opens
  3. 1913On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1914BuiltChandler High School is built
  5. 1920In the archiveUntitled photo
  6. 1926Born hereLiz Renay is born here
  7. 1936In the archiveChandler, Arizona. Apartment kitchen
  8. 1938BuiltMcCullough-Price House is built
  9. 1940In the archiveChandler, Arizona. The kitchen in one of the houses at Chandler Farms, a Farm Security Ad…
  10. 1965Born hereShawn Michaels is born here
  11. 1985In the archiveLandsat View, Chandler, Arizona - Flickr - NASA Goddard Photo and Video
  12. 1989Born hereCameron Jordan is born here
  13. 1996Born hereJames Rallison is born here
On the map

Chandler on the map, 1913 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chandler. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Chandler on the 1913 USGS mapChandler on the 1952 USGS mapChandler on the 1967 USGS mapChandler on the 1971 USGS mapChandler on the 1981 USGS map1913Mesa sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Chandler.

Every building

Chandler, building by building, 1915–1924

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.

Chandler fire insurance map, 1915, sheet 11915Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Untitled photo
Retake this viewUntitled photo, 1920

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Chandler’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Chandler, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,000160,000180,000200,000220,000240,000260,000280,000300,00019401960198020002020275,987

Grew from 1,378 people in 1930 to 275,987 in 2020, more than tenfold.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Chandler’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

27 famous people were born in Chandler

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Shawn MichaelsAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1965
James RallisonAmerican YouTuber and animator · b. 1996
Cameron JordanAmerican football player · b. 1989
Liz RenayAmerican actress and dancer · b. 1926
KyleeAmerican singer · b. 1994
M
Melissa BuhlAmerican racing cyclist · b. 1982
Help out

Finish Chandler’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUntitled photo: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Gilbert1 historic placeDTempe53 historic placesC+Sun LakesIts storyDMesa31 historic placesC+

Questions about Chandler’s history

What year was Chandler founded?

The Chandler post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Chandler rank for history?

Chandler is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #58 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 Chandler?

10 listings: 4 buildings, 3 historic districts, the Chandler Commercial Historic District, the Silk Stocking Neighborhood Historic District and the Snaketown, with 81 contributing buildings, and 3 structures. 86 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Chandler?

0.1% of Chandler’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1997.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (9), the Library of Congress (14), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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), 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.