The Sells post office opened in 1919, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Indian Oasis (1909), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,121107 years
How historic is Sells?
D
More historic than 11% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Sells post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Sells’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sells is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sells’ 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 Sells’ 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 range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). 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 Sells’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sells yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Sells (O'odham: Komkcʼeḍ ʼe-Wa:ʼosidk) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 2,799 at the 2000 census. It is the capital of the Tohono O'odham Nation and the home of several tribal businesses, such as Tohono O'Odham Ki:Ki Association. It was originally named Indian Oasis by cattle-ranchers/businessmen brothers Joseph and Louis Ménager in 1912. The Ménager brothers also built and ran the Indian Oasis Mercantile Store. The settlement took its present English name in 1918 to honor Indian Commissioner Cato Sells. The O'odham name means "tortoise got wedged". Sells is near the Kitt Peak National Observatory.
Its first post office opened in 1919. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,495 to 2,121 (-15%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Sells, 1909 to 1950
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Sells’s post office has been open since 1919. Another post office, Indian Oasis, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Indian Oasis
1909–1919
Sells
1919–today
19001960today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Sells’ history
What year was Sells founded?
The Sells post office opened in 1919, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sells rank for history?
Sells is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns. 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 Sells?
4% of Sells’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (6), 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.
Date?
2020
2020
2007