9 of Cottonwood’s places are on the National Register
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #22 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Cottonwood was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1973 on and the census since 1950.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cottonwood is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #22 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 Cottonwood’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 Cottonwood’s 15.1 sits above most of its state (81% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 19 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% 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 (±1.9 points) is firm at this size.
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 Cottonwood’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
As settlers arrived in the area, an abundance of cottonwood trees near the Verde River served as a meeting place for travelers. Horses rested there before their journey up the mountains, and travellers would camp here. This location would become the center of Cottonwood. A post office was established in 1885. Main Street in Cottonwood was created 1908, when two settlers "used a mule team to pull and drag through brush". In 1917, Clemenceau, a mining town that is now part of Cottonwood, was established nearby. The Clemenceau smelter closed in 1936, causing job loses and a disruption to the area. Cottonwood incorporated in 1960.
Cottonwood is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #22 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 Cottonwood?
9 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Building at 826 North Main Street (listed 1986, the first), and 1 historic district, the Cottonwood Commercial Historic District, with 8 contributing buildings. 19 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Cottonwood?
2% of Cottonwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1991.
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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) 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.
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