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DHistory
History · Prescott Valley

Prescott Valley was first counted by the census in 1970, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #79 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it

Most of Prescott Valley was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1970.

1970first census
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: CZfromPV · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Prescott Valley began

When was Prescott Valley founded?

1970

Prescott Valley first appears in the census in 1970.

First census: 244 in 19702020 census: 46,78556 years

How historic is Prescott Valley?

D

More historic than 12% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Prescott Valley’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Prescott Valley is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #79 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Prescott Valley’s overall grade.
Founding era1970, from the first census: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.1) · typical AZ town 0.4% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 0.4 per 10,000 residents · typical AZ town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 12%
NewerOlder
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 44%

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 Prescott Valley’s 0.4 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±0.1 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 Prescott Valley’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 Prescott Valley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Prescott Valley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Prescott Valley’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

How Prescott Valley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Prescott Valley.

Read it all →

Prescott Valley's Fitzmaurice Ruins contain artifacts from the early Mountain Patayan people who inhabited the area some 1,400 years ago.

The Walker Party discovered gold along Lynx Creek in 1863. The Lynx Creek placers went on to produce a recorded 29,000 troy ounces (900 kg) of gold. Estimates of actual production range up to 80,000 troy ounces (2,500 kg), which would be worth about $138 million at 2020 prices.

Prescott Valley, formerly known as Lonesome Valley, was settled by ranchers in the 1880s, raising beef to supply the miners and new settlers. The Fain family, pioneer ranchers, still ranch in the valley.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Prescott Valley, 1898 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898Post officeThe Dewey post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1990Born hereElizabeth Marks is born here
By decade

Prescott Valley, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Cowboys picnic in Prescott Valley late 1800s2022Cowboys picnic in Prescott Valley late 1800sBarlow-Massicks House2022Barlow-Massicks HouseRoiling clouds reach the ground during a thunderstorm on the high desert near Prescott Valley, Arizona2018Roiling clouds reach the ground during a thunderstorm…Roiling clouds produce a thunderstorm on the high desert near Prescott Valley, Arizona2018Roiling clouds produce a thunderstorm on the high des…Roiling clouds produce a thunderstorm on the high desert near Prescott Valley, Arizona2018Roiling clouds produce a thunderstorm on the high des…Roiling clouds produce a thunderstorm on the high desert near Prescott Valley, Arizona2018Roiling clouds produce a thunderstorm on the high des…Creative architecture at the Kid Zam Dentistry office2018Creative architecture at the Kid Zam Dentistry officeCreative architecture at the Kid Zam Dentistry office2018Creative architecture at the Kid Zam Dentistry officeSunset over2015Sunset overHampton Inn & Suites2015Hampton Inn & SuitesView SW from the Prescott Valley Civic Center2013View SW from the Prescott Valley Civic CenterJuly 9, 2013, View SW, Civic Center2013July 9, 2013, View SW, Civic CenterJuly 6, 2013, View S. Lake Valley Road, the Bradshaw Mountains From the Prescott Valley Civic Center2013July 6, 2013, View S. Lake Valley Road, the Bradshaw …2013, View W, AZ 6920132013, View W, AZ 69Golden Dojo Loach2012Golden Dojo LoachTalavai and Orabi 2 0072009Talavai and Orabi 2 007Yavapai county satellite ma2006Yavapai county satellite maPV Sunset2006PV Sunset
On the map

Prescott Valley on the map, 1947 to 1973

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

Prescott Valley on the 1947 USGS mapPrescott Valley on the 1973 USGS map1947Prescott sheet · 1:62,500

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Prescott Valley

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Lynx Creek District
Lynx Creek District
Districts
All 1 listings
Lynx Creek DistrictDistrict · listed 1978

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

People over time

Prescott Valley, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00019802000202046,785

Grew from 244 people in 1970 to 46,785 in 2020, more than tenfold.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Prescott Valley’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
DeweyDewey-HumboldtShadow Mountain Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Doodlebug DiggingsminePrescott Valley Airportairport

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Dewey-Humboldt1 historic placeC−Prescott65 historic placesB

Questions about Prescott Valley’s history

What year was Prescott Valley founded?

The Prescott Valley post office opened in 1970, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1978.

How does Prescott Valley rank for history?

Prescott Valley is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #79 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.

What is on the National Register in Prescott Valley?

One place: the Lynx Creek District (listed 1978).

How old are the homes in Prescott Valley?

0.0% of Prescott Valley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 2002.

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 (12), the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.