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Scottsdale, Arizona (cropped)Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0
C+History
History · Scottsdale

Scottsdale dates to 1894, and 11 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #32 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it

Most of Scottsdale was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. 11 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Taliesin West, a National Historic Landmark, and three historic districts with 325 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1920.

1894founded
11on the National Register
0.5%homes built before 1940
24famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Scottsdale began

When was Scottsdale founded?

1894

Scottsdale dates its founding to 1894 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 1,047 in 19202020 census: 241,361132 years

How historic is Scottsdale?

C+

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1897.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Scottsdale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Scottsdale is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #32 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 Scottsdale’s overall grade.
Founding era1894, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.5% of homes (±0.2) · typical AZ town 0.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register11 listings, 339 historic buildings, 13.9 per 10,000 residents · typical AZ town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 42%
NewerOlder
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 78%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Scottsdale ranks #263 on History.

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 Scottsdale’s 13.9 sits above most of its state (79% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 339 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Scottsdale’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1894.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Scottsdale’s past

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

A historic districtThe Village Grove 1-6 Historic District takes in 223 historic buildings.Lost villages54 hamlets and corners are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Scottsdale are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark11 places on the National Register, including Taliesin West, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

11 listings protect 339 historic buildings

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

places listed
11
National Historic Landmark
1
Taliesin West
historic buildings protected
339
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Taliesin West
Frank Titus HouseScottsdale Grammar SchoolRoald Amundsen Pullman Private Railroad CarOur Lady of Perpetual Help Mission ChurchGeorge Ellis HouseValley Field Riding and Polo ClubTown and Country Scottsdale Residential Historic DistrictVillage Grove 1-6 Historic DistrictKiva Craft CenterSands North Townhouses Historic DistrictTaliesin West, built 1937★
BuildingsDistrictsStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Anglo-Territorial Style1
Late Victorian Transition1
Pullman Railroad Passenger Car1
Modern Movement1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals1
★ Landmark
Taliesin WestBuilt 1937
Frank Titus HouseQueen Anne
Scottsdale Grammar SchoolLate Victorian Transition
Roald Amundsen Pullman Private Railroad CarPullman Railroad Passenger Car
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Mission ChurchBuilding
All 11 listings
George Ellis HouseBuilding · listed 1999Valley Field Riding and Polo ClubBuilding · listed 2009Town and Country Scottsdale Residential Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009Village Grove 1-6 Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2010Kiva Craft CenterBuilding · listed 2022Sands North Townhouses Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2022

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Scottsdale’s post office has been open since 1897.

Hamlets and corners on the map
AndalusiaBuenavanteCactus VillaCarefree FoothillsCasa RicaChimney HillContinental VillageCountry HorizonsCurrys CornerDC RanchDesert HighlandsDesert Wind IIDixileta VerdeEl PaseoEnsenada del OroEstados de La Mancha IIGainey RanchHaciendas del LagoHappy Valley RanchHeritage CourtHeritage TerraceLas VillasMcCormick RanchMcDowell Mountain Ranch
Gone or out of use
Barix Clinics of ArizonahospitalCanal ScottsdalecanalEast Canal AnchocanalNelson MinemineScottsdale Community HospitalhospitalWest Canal AnchocanalWhite Eagle Minemine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Scottsdale
Green Acres Memorial ParkParadise Memorial Gardens

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

Help out

Start Scottsdale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Scottsdale’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 Scottsdale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Scottsdale.

Read it all →

Scottsdale was originally an Akimel O'odham village known as Vaṣai S-vaṣonĭ, meaning 'rotting hay'. Some Akimel O'odham remain there today. Until the late 1960s, there was a still-occupied traditional dwelling on the southeast corner of Indian Bend Road and Hayden Road. The Akimel O'odham who live in Scottsdale today reside in modern houses, not traditional dwellings. Many Akimel O'odham and Maricopa people live in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which borders Scottsdale to the south and east.

ChaptersEarly historyEarly history and establishmentWorld War IIDevelopment of Indian Bend Wash, 1950s–1970sFurther expansion and development, 1970s–1980sModern

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Scottsdale, 1894 to 2002

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1894
    FoundingScottsdale is established
  3. 1897Post officeThe Scottsdale post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1937BuiltTaliesin West is built
  6. 1961Born hereGabrielle Carteris is born here
  7. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1967Born hereCheryl Pollak is born here
  9. 1982LandmarkTaliesin West named a National Historic Landmark
  10. 1988Born hereBrady Corbet is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2002Born hereJosh Doan is born here
By decade

Scottsdale, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Scottsdale cityscape32006Scottsdale cityscape3Scottsdale cityscape12006Scottsdale cityscape1Scottsdale cityscape 22006Scottsdale cityscape 2Desert backyard2006Desert backyardElisabeth Kübler-Ross Photo Gravestone2005Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Photo Gravestone
On the map

Scottsdale on the map, 1965 to 1982

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

Scottsdale on the 1965 USGS mapScottsdale on the 1971 USGS mapScottsdale on the 1982 USGS map1965Paradise Valley sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Scottsdale, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,000160,000180,000200,000220,000240,000260,000192019401960198020002020241,361

Grew from 1,047 people in 1920 to 241,361 in 2020, more than tenfold.

10 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

24 famous people were born in Scottsdale

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Brady CorbetAmerican film director and actor · b. 1988
Gabrielle CarterisAmerican actress · b. 1961
C
Cheryl PollakAmerican actress, director and producer · b. 1967
J
Josh DoanAmerican ice hockey player · b. 2002
K
Khalia LanierAmerican volleyball player · b. 1998
V
Vanessa NygaardAmerican basketball player-coach · b. 1975
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Phoenix228 historic placesB−Carefree1 historic placeDFountain HillsIts storyD−Paradise Valley4 historic placesC−Tempe53 historic placesC+Cave Creek3 historic placesC

Questions about Scottsdale’s history

What year was Scottsdale founded?

In 1894, according to Wikidata. Scottsdale’s post office opened in 1897, and the census of 1920 counted 1,047 people here.

How does Scottsdale rank for history?

Scottsdale is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #32 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 Scottsdale?

11 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Taliesin West (a National Historic Landmark since 1982), 3 historic districts, the Town and Country Scottsdale Residential Historic District, the Village Grove 1-6 Historic District and the Sands North Townhouses Historic District, with 325 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 339 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Scottsdale?

0.5% of Scottsdale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 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).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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.