More historic than 14% of U.S. towns · #75 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Maricopa was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2007. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 2000.
Founding year: the first Maricopa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 2003.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Maricopa’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Maricopa is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #75 of 140 in Arizona. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Maricopa’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 Maricopa’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 (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 2003.
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 Maricopa’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The settlement currently known as Maricopa has been located in three different places with three previous names: Maricopa Wells, Maricopaville and Maricopa Junction; the latter gradually became known as Maricopa. It began as an oasis around a series of watering holes eight miles north of present-day Maricopa, and about a mile west of Pima Butte. European-American traders and travelers called it Maricopa Wells. Several of Arizona's rivers, the Gila, Santa Cruz, Vekol and Santa Rosa, provided this oasis in the desert with an ample supply of water during this time.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Maricopa post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 2003.
How does Maricopa rank for history?
Maricopa is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #75 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.
How old are the homes in Maricopa?
0.4% of Maricopa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 2007.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, 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.
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