Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Golden Valley is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #108 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Golden Valley’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Golden Valley’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Golden Valley.
Golden Valley was named after a company from Hollywood, California, that went into partnership with Crystal Collins to develop most of the land south of Arizona State Route 68 into 2.5-acre (1.0 ha) parcels. The company's name was Golden Valley Development Company. The land was split into 2.5 acre parcels and sold for $695 each: $10 down and $10 per month.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
20122012, Golden Valley Sunset
2009Oatman Mountain - panoramio - Zzyzx
2009Cities in the Desert - Bullhead City, Az and Laughlin…
2008Golden Valley, Arizona
2008Golden Valley, Arizona
2008Golden Valley, Arizona
2008Golden Valley, Arizona
2008Kingman-az-mapMap
2007Golden Valley
2007Golden Valley Arizona
2003Looking overEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Golden Valley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Golden Valley.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Golden Valley’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 2,619 people in 1990 to 8,801 in 2020, 3 times over.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Golden Valley’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Golden Valley itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Golden Valley is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #108 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.
0.0% of Golden Valley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1998.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
1960
