Sedona’s post office opened in 1902, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #55 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Sedona was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 8 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1923 on, and the census since 1970.
Founding year: the first Sedona post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sedona’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sedona is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #55 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 Sedona’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 Sedona’s 14.3 sits above most of its state (80% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 14 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% 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 (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Sedona’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first European-American settler, John J. Thompson, moved to Oak Creek Canyon in 1876, an area well known for its peach and apple orchards. The early settlers were farmers and ranchers. In 1902, when the Sedona post office was established, there were 55 residents. In the mid-1950s, the first telephone directory listed 155 names. Some parts of the Sedona area were not electrified until the 1960s.
The area, then unincorporated, had no local government and was bisected by two counties. Growth increased after a resident discovered water. That meant area residents no longer had to transport water, and could directly build infrastructure.
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.
Between 2,022 and 10,192 people in every census since 1970.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sedona’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Sedona’s post office has been open since 1902.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Oak Creek MobilodgeSunset Village Mobile Home ParkWest Sedona
Gone or out of use
Sedona Christian Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Sedona
Sedona Community
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Sedona’s history
What year was Sedona founded?
The Sedona post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sedona rank for history?
Sedona is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #55 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 Sedona?
6 listings: 4 buildings, 1 historic district, the OK Ranch Historic District, with 8 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 14 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Sedona?
0.3% of Sedona’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (6), 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.
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