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Oak Creek Canyon 02Photo: Postdlf · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Oak Creek Canyon

2 of Oak Creek Canyon’s places are on the National Register

Most of Oak Creek Canyon was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1923 on.

2on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Oak Creek Canyon’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Oak Creek Canyon’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19234 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1980. Watch Oak Creek Canyon change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oak Creek Canyon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oak Creek Canyon’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewOak Creek Switchback - 1939: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Oak Creek Canyon on the map, 1923 to 1980

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

Oak Creek Canyon on the 1923 USGS mapOak Creek Canyon on the 1932 USGS mapOak Creek Canyon on the 1969 USGS mapOak Creek Canyon on the 1980 USGS map1923Camp Verde sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Oak Creek Canyon.

The story so far

Oak Creek Canyon, in brief

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

Oak Creek Canyon is a river gorge located in northern Arizona between the cities of Flagstaff and Sedona. The canyon is often described as a smaller cousin of the Grand Canyon because of its scenic beauty. State Route 89A enters the canyon on its north end via a series of hairpin turns before traversing the bottom of the canyon for about 13 miles (21 km) until the highway enters the town of Sedona.

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

Timeline

Oak Creek Canyon, 1923 to 1985

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1939In the archiveOak Creek Switchback - 1939
  4. 1957In the archiveOak Creek Canyon - 1957
  5. 1985BuiltPendley Homestead Historic District is built
By decade

Oak Creek Canyon, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1950s3 items
Oak Creek Switchback - 19391939Oak Creek Switchback - 1939Oak Creek Canyon - 19571957Oak Creek Canyon - 1957Oak Creek Sedona Arizona1959Oak Creek Sedona Arizona
1960s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Oak Creek Canyon 022006Oak Creek Canyon 02Oak Creek Canyon 012006Oak Creek Canyon 0100 1009 Oak Creek Canyon - Arizona (USA)200600 1009 Oak Creek Canyon - Arizona (USA)
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Oak Creek Switchback - 1939
Retake this viewOak Creek Switchback - 1939, 1939

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Oak Creek Canyon’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Oak Creek Canyon

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Pumphouse Wash Bridge
Pumphouse Wash BridgePendley Homestead Historic District, built 1985
DistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Movement1
Bungalow1
National Folk1
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Mission Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Pumphouse Wash BridgeStructure
Pendley Homestead Historic DistrictLate 19th and 20th Century Movement · Built 1985

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Oak Creek Canyon

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

See all →
Diana GabaldonAmerican author · b. 1952
Andy DevineAmerican actor · b. 1905
H
Henry L. GiclasAmerican astronomer · b. 1910
Justin FrankelAmerican computer programmer · b. 1978
Tyler GillettAmerican film director, cinematographer, writer… · b. 1982
B
Blake WoodruffAmerican actor · b. 1995
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Indian GardensRainbow Trailer Park

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Oak Creek Canyon’s history

What is on the National Register in Oak Creek Canyon?

Two places: the Pumphouse Wash Bridge (listed 1988) and the Pendley Homestead Historic District (1991).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.