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B−History
History · Clarkdale

Clarkdale dates to 1912, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #15 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 368 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1915 on and the census since 1920.

1912founded
5on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Clarkdale began

When was Clarkdale founded?

1912

Clarkdale dates its founding to 1912 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 2,435 in 19202020 census: 4,424114 years

How historic is Clarkdale?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1913.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Clarkdale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clarkdale is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #15 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clarkdale’s overall grade.
Founding era1912, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194010.7% of homes (±6.0) · typical AZ town 0.4% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register5 listings, 372 historic buildings, 782 per 10,000 residents · typical AZ town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 90%

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 Clarkdale’s 782 sits above most of its state (99% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 372 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points). Two sources give 1912.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Clarkdale’s past

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

A historic districtThe Clarkdale Historic District takes in 367 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Clarkdale are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1930 and 1970, then grew 4-fold.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

5 listings protect 372 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
372
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Clark Memorial Clubhouse
Clark Memorial ClubhouseBroadway BridgeClarkdale Historic DistrictTuzigoot Museum, built 1936Tuzigoot Developed Area Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Spanish Colonial Revival1
Neo-Classical1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Revivals1
Pueblo1
Clark Memorial ClubhouseSpanish Colonial Revival
Broadway BridgeStructure
Clarkdale Historic DistrictDistrict
Tuzigoot MuseumLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Revivals · Built 1936
All 5 listings
Tuzigoot Developed Area Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2025

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

Help out

Start Clarkdale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clarkdale’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
People over time

Clarkdale, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0001920194019601980200020205,526 in 1930Low: 892

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1930 and 1970, then grew 4-fold.

10 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Clarkdale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Clarkdale.

Read it all →

Clarkdale was founded in 1912 as a company smelter town by William A. Clark, for his copper mine in nearby Jerome. Clarkdale was one of the most modern mining towns in the world, including telephone, telegraph, electrical, sewer and spring water services, and was an early example of a planned community. The Clark Mansion, a local landmark, was built in the late 1920s by William Clark III, Clark's grandson and heir to the United Verde Copper Company. The structure, east of town across the Verde River near Pecks Lake, was destroyed in 2010 by a fire of "suspicious" origin.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Clarkdale, 1912 to 1944

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1912
    FoundingClarkdale is established
  3. 1913Post officeThe Clarkdale post office opens
  4. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 5,526
  5. 1936BuiltTuzigoot Museum is built
  6. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Clarkdale, decade by decade

Today21 recent
Clarkdale-United Verde Copper Company Smelter marker-20012019Clarkdale-United Verde Copper Company Smelter marker-…Clarkdale-Arizona Central RR Trestle -1910-32019Clarkdale-Arizona Central RR Trestle -1910-3Clarkdale-Arizona Central RR Trestle -1910-12019Clarkdale-Arizona Central RR Trestle -1910-1A Verde Canyon Railroad excursion train, moments out of its Clarkdale, Arizona, station across the Verde River, heads i…2018A Verde Canyon Railroad excursion train, moments out …Courtyard and signage outside the Arizona Copper Art Museum2018Courtyard and signage outside the Arizona Copper Art …A powerful mountain storm drops heavy rain and hail on the Verde Valley above Clarkdale, Arizona2018A powerful mountain storm drops heavy rain and hail o…View across the Verde River of the Verde Canyon Railroad's station complex2018View across the Verde River of the Verde Canyon Railr…A Verde Canyon cliffside outside Clarkdale, Arizona2018A Verde Canyon cliffside outside Clarkdale, ArizonaClarkdale2018ClarkdaleClarkdale-1869 Ricochet2018Clarkdale-1869 RicochetClarkdale-1869 Looks West2018Clarkdale-1869 Looks WestThe Cacti Are Taking Over2016The Cacti Are Taking OverSafety Badge2016Safety BadgeNot a Problem2016Not a ProblemCopper State2016Copper StateArizona National Guard Unit provides expertise to First Responders 150404-Z-LW032-3422015Arizona National Guard Unit provides expertise to Fir…Arizona National Guard Unit provides expertise to First Responders 150404-Z-LW032-1452015Arizona National Guard Unit provides expertise to Fir…Welcome to2014Welcome toEntering2014EnteringPhoenix Cement Plant2013Phoenix Cement PlantSlag22006Slag2
On the map

Clarkdale on the map, 1944 to 1973

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

Clarkdale on the 1944 USGS mapClarkdale on the 1973 USGS map1944Clarkdale 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 Clarkdale.

Every building

Clarkdale, building by building, 1915

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 sheet.

Clarkdale fire insurance map, 1915, sheet 11915Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Clarkdale’s post office has been open since 1913.

Hamlets and corners on the map
CentervilleLampliter Village Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Clarkdale
Valley View

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Cottonwood9 historic placesB−

Questions about Clarkdale’s history

What year was Clarkdale founded?

In 1912, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Clarkdale’s post office opened in 1913, and the census of 1920 counted 2,435 people here.

How does Clarkdale rank for history?

Clarkdale is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #15 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 Clarkdale?

5 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Clark Memorial Clubhouse (listed 1982, the first), 2 historic districts, the Clarkdale Historic District and the Tuzigoot Developed Area Historic District, with 368 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 372 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Clarkdale?

11% of Clarkdale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1989.

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 (16), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.