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C−History
History · Chinle

Chinle’s post office opened in 1903, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #56 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it

Most of Chinle was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: maps from 1955 on.

1903first post office
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Chinle began

When was Chinle founded?

1903

The Chinle post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 4,573123 years

How historic is Chinle?

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 Chinle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Chinle’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chinle is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #56 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 Chinle’s overall grade.
Founding era1903, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19401.6% of homes (±2.0) · typical AZ town 0.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 7.2 per 10,000 residents · typical AZ town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 23%
NewerOlder
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 60%

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 Chinle’s 7.2 sits above most of its state (76% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 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 Chinle’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Chinle are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chinle’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chinle’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Chinle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chinle.

Read it all →

In the Spanish colonial period, Chinle was a base for both trade and war. After acquisition of this area by the United States following the Mexican–American War, relations between the peoples deteriorated in the 1860s.

The United States conducted a peace conference through their representative Kit Carson and the Navajo people in order to end the war between the Navajo and the U.S. The first trading post operated out of a tent and was established here in 1882. By 1885 a full-sized camp had developed.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chinle, 1903 to 2000

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903Post officeThe Chinle post office opens
  3. 1907Born hereCarl Nelson Gorman is born here
  4. 1931Born hereR. C. Gorman is born here
  5. 1947Born hereJoe Shirley, Jr. is born here
  6. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 21st century
  8. 2000Born hereJeremiah Bitsui is born here
By decade

Chinle, decade by decade

Today6 recent
View of Canyon de Chelly National Monument, within Navajo tribal lands in the Four Corners region of northeastern Arizo…2018View of Canyon de Chelly National Monument, within Na…View of Canyon de Chelly National Monument, within Navajo tribal lands in the Four Corners region of northeastern Arizo…2018View of Canyon de Chelly National Monument, within Na…A horse in the scrub brush near Chinle, a town on Navajo lands in northeastern Arizona2018A horse in the scrub brush near Chinle, a town on Nav…Chinle, Ariz., Marine volunteers, enjoys accountability 130527-M-IV927-0062013Chinle, Ariz., Marine volunteers, enjoys accountabili…Chinleuhaul2011ChinleuhaulMap of the Navajo Volcanic Fields2011Map of the Navajo Volcanic FieldsMap
On the map

Chinle on the map, 1955 to 1982

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

Chinle on the 1955 USGS mapChinle on the 1982 USGS map1955Chinle 4 NE sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Chinle

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Chinle Franciscan Mission Historic District
Chinle Franciscan Mission Historic District
Districts
All 1 listings
Chinle Franciscan Mission Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Chinle

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

See all →
J
Jeremiah BitsuiAmerican actor · b. 2000
R. C. GormanDiné (Navajo) painter and printmaker · b. 1931
Joe Shirley, Jr.President of the Navajo Nation · b. 1947
Carl Nelson GormanNavajo artist, professor, code talker · b. 1907
R
Robert D. DraperNavajo and Hopi/Laguna artist · b. 1938
T
Timothy BegayNavajo artist · b. 1921
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Chinle’s post office has been open since 1903.

Gone or out of use
Chinle Airportairport

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

Questions about Chinle’s history

What year was Chinle founded?

The Chinle post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Chinle rank for history?

Chinle is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #56 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 Chinle?

One place: the Chinle Franciscan Mission Historic District (listed 2007).

How old are the homes in Chinle?

2% of Chinle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1990.

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 (3), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.