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History · Indian Wells

Indian Wells’ post office opened in 1910

Most of Indian Wells was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1973 on and the census since 2000.

1910first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Steven Baltakatei Sandoval · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Indian Wells began

When was Indian Wells founded?

1910

The Indian Wells post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,445 in 20002020 census: 232116 years
Founding year: the first Indian Wells post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Indian Wells’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Indian Wells are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Indian Wells’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Indian Wells’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
The story so far

Indian Wells, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Indian Wells yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Indian Wells (Navajo: Tó Hahadleeh) is a census-designated place in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. Indian Wells Elementary School is located in the town, it serves 600 students. It is also the name of the local Navajo chapter of the Navajo Nation Council. Indian Wells is served by a post office with the ZIP code of 86031. The ZIP Code Tabulation Area for ZIP Code 86031 had a population of 1,856 at the 2010 census, with 255 in Indian Wells itself.

Its first post office opened in 1910. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 255 to 232 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Indian Wells, 1910 to 1973

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1910Post officeThe Indian Wells post office opens
  3. 1965Post officeThe Indian Wells post office closes
  4. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Indian Wells, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Indian Wells Elementary School2021Indian Wells Elementary SchoolIndian Wells meeting house, February 20192019Indian Wells meeting house, February 2019Indian Wells administration building, February 20192019Indian Wells administration building, February 2019
On the map

Indian Wells on the map, 1973 to 1982

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

Indian Wells on the 1973 USGS mapIndian Wells on the 1982 USGS map1973Indian Wells 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 Indian Wells.

People over time

Indian Wells, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50020002020Peak: 2,445

Between 232 and 2,445 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Indian Wells

Nobody well known was born in Indian Wells itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Gene EvansActor · b. 1922
Mike BudenholzerAmerican basketball coach · b. 1969
C
Chester CrandellAmerican politician · b. 1946
Dan NaminghaHopi painter and sculptor (b. 1950) · b. 1950
H
Harrison BegayNavajo painter in the Studio-Style · b. 1917
H
Hugh P. Taylor Jr.American geochemist · b. 1932
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Indian Wells had its own post office from 1910 to 1965.

Indian Wells
1910–1965
19101970today

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

Questions about Indian Wells’ history

What year was Indian Wells founded?

The Indian Wells post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.