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C−History
History · St. David

St. David dates to 1846

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of St. David was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 2000.

1846founded
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How St. David began

When was St. David founded?

1846

St. David dates its founding to 1846 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 2000.

First census: 1,744 in 20002020 census: 1,639180 years

How historic is St. David?

C−

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives St. David’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. David is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. David’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19403.8% of homes (±3.1) · typical AZ town 0.4% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical AZ town 0.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 16%
NewerOlder

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 St. David’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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1846.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points).

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 St. David’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of St. David are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1846: 180 years of St. David.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. David’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. David’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
Timeline

St. David, 1846 to 1958

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1846
    FoundingSt. David is established
  3. 1882Post officeThe Saint David post office opens
  4. 1895Born hereGeorge Nicholas Goodman is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How St. David came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of St. David.

Read it all →

St. David was established as a result of the Mormon Battalion having earlier passed through the San Pedro River valley in 1846. One of the founders of St. David, Philemon C. Merrill, was a member of the battalion. The Mormon settlers of 1877 were part of a group that originally was to settle Lehi, Arizona. The town was named after David Patten Kimball. The early St. David settlers played an important role in establishing the subsequent surrounding settlements, such as Fort Huachuca and Tombstone, as they did much of the logging in the Huachuca Mountains to provide lumber for the construction of those locations.

As a tight-knit Mormon community, St. David managed better than other small towns in Cochise County during the Great Depression.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

St. David, decade by decade

Today4 recent
A closed former grocery store ("Grandma Goodman's") named after the town's first grocer (in another location in the 188…2018A closed former grocery store ("Grandma Goodman's") n…The "bath and brush" at this little establishment in the tiny southeast Arizona town of St. David refers to a pet-groom…2018The "bath and brush" at this little establishment in …This little commercial building in the tiny southeast Arizona town of St. David may be out of business, but there's sti…2018This little commercial building in the tiny southeast…Since this photograph was taken five months after the spooky American holiday of Halloween, it's difficult to describe …2018Since this photograph was taken five months after the…
On the map

St. David on the map, 1958 to 1996

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

St. David on the 1958 USGS mapSt. David on the 1973 USGS mapSt. David on the 1996 USGS map1958St David sheet · 1:62,500

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

People over time

St. David, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80020002020Peak: 1,744

Between 1,639 and 1,744 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Apache Mobile ParkSaint David
1cemetery inside St. David
Saint David

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

Questions about St. David’s history

What year was St. David founded?

In 1846, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. St. David’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 2000 counted 1,744 people here.

How does St. David rank for history?

St. David is more historic than 16% 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 St. David?

4% of St. David’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1987.

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 the Library of Congress (4), 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.