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C−History
History · Mammoth

Mammoth dates to 1872

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Mammoth was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972.

1872founded
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Marine 69-71 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Mammoth began

When was Mammoth founded?

1872

Mammoth dates its founding to 1872 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1880.

2020 census: 1,076154 years

How historic is Mammoth?

C−

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1880.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mammoth’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mammoth is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mammoth’s overall grade.
Founding era1872, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.1% of homes (±1.4) · typical AZ town 0.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical AZ town 0.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 16%
NewerOlder

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 Mammoth’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 C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1872.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Mammoth’s 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 Mammoth are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Mammoth, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mammoth’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mammoth’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Mammoth’s post office has been open since 1887. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fordville
1880–1880
Mammoth
1887–today
Shultz
1894–1922
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FordvilleNorth MammothSunward Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Ford Minemine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mammoth
Mammoth Valley ViewMcKinney

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

The story

How Mammoth came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mammoth.

Read it all →

Mammoth was founded around 1872 as Mammoth Camp to serve the nearby Mammoth Mine. Until 2003 when it closed, Mammoth served as a bedroom community for the nearby San Manuel Mine.

The nearby ghost town of Copper Creek is a popular local attraction.

Minerals from the old Mammoth-St. Anthony Mine are found in all major mineral collections. Tiger, Arizona was the townsite at the Tiger Mine and nothing remains of this ghost town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mammoth, 1872 to 1922

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872
    FoundingMammoth is established
  3. 1880Post officeThe Fordville post office opens
  4. 1880Post officeThe Fordville post office closes
  5. 1887Post officeThe Mammoth post office opens
  6. 1894Post officeThe Shultz post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1922Post officeThe Shultz post office closes
By decade

Mammoth, decade by decade

Today2 recent
A Blake Masters For Senate 2022 Yard Sign Near2022A Blake Masters For Senate 2022 Yard Sign NearAZMap-doton-Mammoth2004AZMap-doton-Mammoth
Famous people

Famous people close to Mammoth

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

See all →
John GarciaAmerican singer · b. 1970
G
George BanksAmerican basketball player · b. 1972
A
Alfredo Chavez MarquezUnited States District Judge · b. 1922
Dick TuckAmerican prankster · b. 1924
M
Marshall BozeAmerican baseball player · b. 1971
A
Addison RerecichAmerican double-lung transplant recipient · b. 1999
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Oracle6 historic placesB−

Questions about Mammoth’s history

What year was Mammoth founded?

In 1872, according to Wikidata. Mammoth’s post office opened in 1880.

How does Mammoth rank for history?

Mammoth is more historic than 16% 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 Mammoth?

1% of Mammoth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1972.

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 (2), 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.