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History · Theba

The history of Theba

Below: maps from 1950 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Theba’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 Theba are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Theba’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Theba came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Theba.

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The area, which is in the Sonoran Desert, was a farming area into the 1960s, and once had significant crops of melons, jojoba, and guar in the 1970s, which is used in the oil industry. The Southern Pacific Company once had a railroad station there, served by Wells Fargo. The population was estimated at 200 in 1960.

Theba is the nearest community to the Painted Rocks, a site of ancient petroglyphs that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Theba, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Rock carvings at the Painted Rocks petroglyph site, near the town of Theba in Maricopa County, Arizona. More than 800 i…2018Rock carvings at the Painted Rocks petroglyph site, n…Rock carvings at the Painted Rocks petroglyph site, near the town of Theba in Maricopa County, Arizona. More than 800 i…2018Rock carvings at the Painted Rocks petroglyph site, n…Rock carvings at the Painted Rocks petroglyph site, near the town of Theba in Maricopa County, Arizona. More than 800 i…2018Rock carvings at the Painted Rocks petroglyph site, n…Rock carvings at the Painted Rocks petroglyph site, near the town of Theba in Maricopa County, Arizona. More than 800 i…2018Rock carvings at the Painted Rocks petroglyph site, n…Rock carvings at the Painted Rocks petroglyph site, near the town of Theba in Maricopa County, Arizona. More than 800 i…2018Rock carvings at the Painted Rocks petroglyph site, n…Metal art at a campsite outside the Painted Rocks petroglyph site, near the town of Theba in Maricopa County, Arizona2018Metal art at a campsite outside the Painted Rocks pet…
On the map

Theba on the map, 1950 to 1973

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

Theba on the 1950 USGS mapTheba on the 1973 USGS map1950Theba 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 Theba.

Questions about Theba’s history

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What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.