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C−History
History · Sahuarita

Sahuarita dates to 1854, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #61 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it

Most of Sahuarita was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them the Air Force Facility Missile Site 8 (571-7) Military Reservation, a National Historic Landmark. Below: maps from 1926 on and the census since 1990.

1854founded
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Sahuarita began

When was Sahuarita founded?

1854

Sahuarita dates its founding to 1854 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1990.

First census: 1,629 in 19902020 census: 34,134172 years

How historic is Sahuarita?

C−

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Sahuarita’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sahuarita is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #61 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sahuarita’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.2) · typical AZ town 0.4% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register1 listing, 0.3 per 10,000 residents · typical AZ town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%
NewerOlder
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 57%

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 Sahuarita’s 0.3 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1854.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Sahuarita’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 Sahuarita are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark1 place on the National Register, including Air Force Facility Missile Site 8 (571-7) Military Reservation, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sahuarita’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sahuarita’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
On the National Register

1 historic place in Sahuarita

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmark
1
Air Force Facility Missile Site 8 (571-7) Milit…
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
Air Force Facility Missile Site 8 (571-7) Milit…
Air Force Facility Missile Site 8 (571-7) Military Reservation, built 1963★
Sites★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Missile Launch Complex1
★ Landmark
Air Force Facility Missile Site 8 (571-7) Military ReservationMissile Launch Complex · Built 1963

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

The story

How Sahuarita came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sahuarita.

Read it all →

The first known human inhabitants of the Sahuarita region were the Hohokam people, which may be the ancestors of the modern day Tohono O'odham nation. The Hohokam were known for their highly innovative and extensive use of irrigation. The Hohokam were very peaceful people, they had extensive trade routes extending to Mesoamerica, and showed many cultural influences from their southern neighbors.

ChaptersHohokam (200–1450)Sobaipuri (1400–1900)Spanish and Mexican control (1775–1853)Incorporation into the U.S. (1854–1874)Sahuarita on the map (1870–1925)Sahuarita Ranch (1879–1886)Continental Farm (1915–present)World War II (1941–1945)

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sahuarita, 1854 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854
    FoundingSahuarita is established
  3. 1882Post officeThe Sahuarito post office opens
  4. 1886Post officeThe Sahuarito post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1915Post officeThe Sahuarita post office opens
  7. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1963BuiltAir Force Facility Missile Site 8 (571-7) Military Reservation is built
  9. 1994LandmarkAir Force Facility Missile Site 8 (571-7) Military Reservation named a National Historic …
By decade

Sahuarita, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Sahuarita sundial Carmichael2008Sahuarita sundial CarmichaelBucket digger across the pit2007Bucket digger across the pitBbasgen-sahuarita-lake2007Bbasgen-sahuarita-lakeBasgen-fico-groves2007Basgen-fico-grovesBasgen-Sahuarita-Airstrip2007Basgen-Sahuarita-Airstrip
On the map

Sahuarita on the map, 1926 to 1981

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

Sahuarita on the 1926 USGS mapSahuarita on the 1958 USGS mapSahuarita on the 1981 USGS map1926Helvetia 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 Sahuarita.

People over time

Sahuarita, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,0002000202034,134

Grew from 1,629 people in 1990 to 34,134 in 2020, more than tenfold.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Places that used to be

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

Sahuarita’s post office has been open since 1915. Another post office, Sahuarito, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sahuarito
1882–1886
Sahuarita
1915–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DuvalLos Arboles Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Air Force Facility Missile Site 8military
1cemetery inside Sahuarita
Green Valley Mortuary and Memorial Gardens

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.

Green ValleyIts storyD−

Questions about Sahuarita’s history

What year was Sahuarita founded?

In 1854, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Sahuarita’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1990 counted 1,629 people here.

How does Sahuarita rank for history?

Sahuarita is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #61 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 Sahuarita?

One place: the Air Force Facility Missile Site 8 (571-7) Military Reservation (listed 1992).

How old are the homes in Sahuarita?

0.0% of Sahuarita’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 2006.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.