Snowflake dates to 1878, and 7 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #23 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Snowflake was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. 7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 43 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1970 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1881.
History grade
What drives Snowflake’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Snowflake is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #23 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Snowflake’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 Snowflake’s 76.0 sits above most of its state (91% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 49 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). Two sources give 1878.
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 Snowflake’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Snowflake, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Snowflake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Snowflake (Navajo: Tó Diłhił Biih Yílį́) is a town in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It was founded in 1878 by Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake, Mormon pioneers. As of the 2020 census, Snowflake had a population of 6,104. Snowflake is 25 miles (40 km) south of Interstate 40 (formerly U.S. Route 66) via Highway 77. The Apache Railway provides freight service.
Snowflake was established in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 5,590 to 6,104 (+9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Snowflake, 1878 to 1970
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.
In 1878, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Snowflake’s post office opened in 1881, and the census of 1880 counted 275 people here.
How does Snowflake rank for history?
Snowflake is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #23 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 Snowflake?
7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the James M. Flake House (listed 1971, the first), and 1 historic district, the Snowflake Townsite Historic District, with 43 contributing buildings. 49 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Snowflake?
3% of Snowflake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 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 National Register of Historic Places (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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