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B−History
History · Taylor

Taylor dates to 1878, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns · #20 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it

Most of Taylor was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1970.

1878founded
4on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Marine 69-71 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Taylor began

When was Taylor founded?

1878

Taylor dates its founding to 1878 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 888 in 19702020 census: 3,995148 years

How historic is Taylor?

B−

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1881.
History grade

What drives Taylor’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Taylor is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #20 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 Taylor’s overall grade.
Founding era1878, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.4% of homes (±5.9) · typical AZ town 0.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register4 listings, 8 historic buildings, 19.1 per 10,000 residents · typical AZ town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%
NewerOlder
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 86%

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 Taylor’s 19.1 sits above most of its state (83% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% 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 (±5.9 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 Taylor’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 Taylor are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Taylor’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Taylor’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
On the National Register

4 historic places in Taylor

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
A.Z. Palmer House
A.Z. Palmer HouseAquilla Standifird HouseJordan Palmer HouseNorman Brimhall House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian2
Colonial Revival1
Second Gothic Revival1
All 4 listings
A.Z. Palmer HouseBuilding · listed 2004Aquilla Standifird HouseBuilding · listed 2004Jordan Palmer HouseBuilding · listed 2004Norman Brimhall HouseBuilding · listed 2004

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

The story so far

Taylor, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Taylor yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Taylor is a town in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It was founded by settlers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in January 1878, several months before the neighboring community of Snowflake. Taylor straddles Silver Creek, flowing from the nearby White Mountains to the Little Colorado River on Arizona's Colorado Plateau. As of the 2020 census, Taylor had a population of 3,995. The town was named for John Taylor, the third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is no postal home delivery in Taylor; residents within a certain radius of the Post Office who produce proof of Taylor residency are allocated a small PO box free of charge.

Taylor was established in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,112 to 3,995 (-3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Taylor, 1878 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878
    FoundingTaylor is established
  3. 1881Post officeThe Taylor post office opens
  4. 1899Born hereRenz L. Jennings is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Taylor, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Taylor-Aguila Standifird House-18902019Taylor-Aguila Standifird House-1890
On the map

Taylor on the map, 1970 to 1998

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

Taylor on the 1970 USGS mapTaylor on the 1981 USGS mapTaylor on the 1998 USGS map1970Taylor 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 Taylor.

People over time

Taylor, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,500198020002020Peak: 4,112

Between 888 and 4,112 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Taylor’s post office has been open since 1881.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Schoens Crossing
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Taylor
Reed Hatch MemorialShumway

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Shumway1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSnowflake7 historic placesB−

Questions about Taylor’s history

What year was Taylor founded?

In 1878, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Taylor’s post office opened in 1881, and the census of 1970 counted 888 people here.

How does Taylor rank for history?

Taylor is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #20 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 Taylor?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the A.Z. Palmer House (listed 2004, the first). 8 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Taylor?

6% of Taylor’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 2001.

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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.