Most of Lukachukai was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 2000.
Founding year: the first Lukachukai post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Lukachukai’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lukachukai is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns. 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 Lukachukai’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 Lukachukai’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 range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Lukachukai’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lukachukai yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lukachukai (Navajo: Lókʼaaʼchʼégai) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,701 at the 2010 census. It is within the Navajo Nation.
Its first post office opened in 1916. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,701 to 1,424 (-16%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Lukachukai, 1916 to 1973
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lukachukai. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Sonsala Butte 1 NW 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 Lukachukai.
People over time
Lukachukai, census by census
Between 1,424 and 1,701 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lukachukai’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and places now gone
Lukachukai had its own post office from 1916 to 1973.
Lukachukai
1916–1973
19101970today
Gone or out of use
Lukachukai Airportairport
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Lukachukai’s history
What year was Lukachukai founded?
The Lukachukai post office opened in 1916, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lukachukai rank for history?
Lukachukai is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns. 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 Lukachukai?
0.4% of Lukachukai’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1984.
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), 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.
2014
