More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #60 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Fort Defiance was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 2000.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fort Defiance’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fort Defiance is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #60 of 140 in Arizona. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fort Defiance’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 Fort Defiance’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1851.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 →
The land on which Fort Defiance was eventually established was first noted by the U.S. military when Colonel John Washington stopped there on his return journey from an expedition to Canyon de Chelly. Fort Defiance was established on September 18, 1851, by Col. Edwin V. Sumner to create a military presence in Diné bikéyah (Navajo territory). Sumner broke up the fort at Santa Fe for this purpose, creating the first military post in what is now Arizona. He left Major Electus Backus in charge.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fort Defiance. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Zith-Tusayan Butte 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 Fort Defiance.
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.
Retake this viewFort defiance, arizona, 1873
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Fort Defiance’s page.
In 1851, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Fort Defiance’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 2000 counted 4,061 people here.
How does Fort Defiance rank for history?
Fort Defiance is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #60 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.
How old are the homes in Fort Defiance?
4% of Fort Defiance’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (4), 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.
1905
1906
1906
