Among the newest of U.S. towns · #134 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of San Manuel was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1954.
History grade
What drives San Manuel’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, San Manuel is among the newest of U.S. towns, #134 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 San Manuel’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 San Manuel’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 still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1953.
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 San Manuel’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Peaked at 5,443 in 1980; 3,114 people lived here in 2020.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on San Manuel’s Wikipedia page.
The story so far
San Manuel, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of San Manuel yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
San Manuel is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. The population was 3,551 at the 2010 census. San Manuel was built in 1953 by Del E. Webb Construction Company as a company town to serve the then-new San Manuel copper mine, mill and smelter complex. In 1955 the San Manuel Arizona Railroad was built to connect with the Copper Basin Railway at Hayden. When copper prices fell in the late 1990s, BHP, the owner of the mine and smelter complex shuttered both operations in June 1999. The closing saw 2,500 people lose their jobs. The mine and smelter were permanently closed in 2003. The community is on the edge of the Sonoran Desert with its saguaros and overloo…
San Manuel was established in 1953. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,551 to 3,114 (-12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
San Manuel, 1948 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
San Manuel’s post office has been open since 1954.
Gone or out of use
Mammoth Copper Corporation Hospitalhospital
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about San Manuel’s history
What year was San Manuel founded?
In 1953, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. San Manuel’s post office opened in 1954, and the census of 1960 counted 4,524 people here.
How does San Manuel rank for history?
San Manuel is among the newest of U.S. towns, #134 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 San Manuel?
0.0% of San Manuel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 (7), 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.
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