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DHistory
History · Gilbert

Gilbert dates to 1902, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 14% of U.S. towns · #74 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it

Most of Gilbert was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Its Register listing is the Gilbert Elementary School. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1920.

1902founded
1on the National Register
0.2%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
18famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gilbert’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Gilbert began

When was Gilbert founded?

1902

Gilbert dates its founding to 1902 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 865 in 19202020 census: 267,918124 years

How historic is Gilbert?

D

More historic than 14% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1910.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Gilbert’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gilbert is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #74 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gilbert’s overall grade.
Founding era1902, from Wikipedia: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.2% of homes (±0.1) · typical AZ town 0.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 0.0 per 10,000 residents · typical AZ town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 14%
NewerOlder
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 47%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Gilbert ranks #373 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 Gilbert’s 0.0 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Gilbert’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. Two sources give 1902.

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 →

What stands out about Gilbert’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages8 hamlets and corners are still on the map.On the map since 19135 editions of the USGS map, 1913 to 1981. Watch Gilbert change.Famous sons and daughtersRyan Fitzpatrick, MyKayla Skinner and 16 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gilbert’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewGilbert Arizona Aerial View from airpla…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Old corners

Gilbert’s post office has been open since 1912.

Higley
1910–today
Gilbert
1912–today
19101970today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Breckenridge ManorFalfaHigleyNortons CornerSonora TownSunviewTremaineVista Alegre

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

On the map

Gilbert on the map, 1913 to 1981

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

Gilbert on the 1913 USGS mapGilbert on the 1952 USGS mapGilbert on the 1967 USGS mapGilbert on the 1971 USGS mapGilbert 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 Gilbert.

The story

How Gilbert came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gilbert.

Read it all →

Gilbert was established by William "Bobby" Gilbert, who provided land to the Arizona Eastern Railway in 1902 to construct a rail line between Phoenix and Florence, Arizona. Ayer's Grocery Store, Gilbert's first store, opened in 1910 and became the location of the first post office in 1912. The post office moved several times before settling on the east side of Gilbert Road in downtown, where it stands today. In 1912, many Mormons who had fled the Mormon colonies in Mexico due to the actions of Pancho Villa's forces settled in Gilbert. By 1915, they began holding church meetings at the Gilbert Elementary School. In 1918, they were organized into the Gilbert Ward.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gilbert, 1902 to 1996

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902
    FoundingGilbert is established
  3. 1910Post officeThe Higley post office opens
  4. 1912Post officeThe Gilbert post office opens
  5. 1913On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1982Born hereRyan Fitzpatrick is born here
  7. 1988Born hereGavin Edwards is born here
  8. 1992Born hereNick Johnson is born here
  9. 1996Born hereMyKayla Skinner is born here
By decade

Gilbert, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Gilbert Arizona Aerial View from airplaneDate?Gilbert Arizona Aerial View from airplane
Today14 recent
Western Honey Bee Taken 2-22-262026Western Honey Bee Taken 2-22-26Otospermophilus variegatus2023Otospermophilus variegatusTree with a Y shaped trunk IMG 1802 (February 2019)2019Tree with a Y shaped trunk IMG 1802 (February 2019)An example of "loading the roof," as it is called2018An example of "loading the roof," as it is calledIn this neighborhood of Gilbert, Arizona, a southern suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, one sees mostly just garage doors of h…2018In this neighborhood of Gilbert, Arizona, a southern …One of many small ponds surrounded by housing developments2018One of many small ponds surrounded by housing develop…Old Tractor in2017Old Tractor inGilbert SW012015Gilbert SW01Gilbert Arizona Afternoon2015Gilbert Arizona AfternoonNorth of Queen Creek, Layton Lakes from the west bank2014North of Queen Creek, Layton Lakes from the west bankKSM 1066a2011KSM 1066aGardening lots for rent at Agritopia2011Gardening lots for rent at AgritopiaPicture of lake front in Val Vista Lakes in2008Picture of lake front in Val Vista Lakes inAZMap-doton-Gilbert2005AZMap-doton-Gilbert
Every building

Gilbert, building by building, 1923

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.

Gilbert fire insurance map, 1923, sheet 11923Sheet 1 of 3
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.

Gilbert Arizona Aerial View from airplane
Retake this viewGilbert Arizona Aerial View from airplane

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Gilbert

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Gilbert Elementary School
Gilbert Elementary School
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Mission Revival Style1
Gilbert Elementary SchoolMission Revival Style

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

People over time

Gilbert, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,000160,000180,000200,000220,000240,000260,000280,000300,000192019401960198020002020267,918

Grew from 865 people in 1920 to 267,918 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

18 famous people were born in Gilbert

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

See all →
Ryan FitzpatrickAmerican football player · b. 1982
M
MyKayla SkinnerAmerican artistic gymnast · b. 1996
Nick JohnsonAmerican basketball player · b. 1992
Gavin EdwardsAmerican-Japanese basketball player · b. 1988
Alexander NaddourAmerican gymnast · b. 1991
Ryan ToolsonAmerican basketball player · b. 1985
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Chandler10 historic placesC−Mesa31 historic placesC+Queen Creek1 historic placeD

Questions about Gilbert’s history

What year was Gilbert founded?

In 1902, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gilbert’s post office opened in 1910, and the census of 1920 counted 865 people here.

How does Gilbert rank for history?

Gilbert is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #74 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 Gilbert?

One place: the Gilbert Elementary School (listed 1980).

How old are the homes in Gilbert?

0.2% of Gilbert’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 2003.

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 (12), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.