Tuba City’s post office opened in 1884, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #49 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Tuba City was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listings are the Krenz-Kerley Trading Post and the Tuba Trading Post. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1969 on, and the census since 1980.
The Tuba City post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Tuba (1894), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 5,045 in 19802020 census: 8,072142 years
How historic is Tuba City?
C
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Tuba City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Tuba City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tuba City is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #49 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tuba City’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 Tuba City’s 2.5 sits above most of its state (67% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. 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 Tuba City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Tuba City area was the territory of indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The community was first documented by Spanish explorers: Father Francisco Garcés visited the area in 1776, and recorded that the Hopi were cultivating crops.
European-American migrants came as part of the Mormon movement to the West in the late 19th century. They named the town after Tuuvi, a Hopi man who converted to Mormonism circa 1870. He had invited the Mormons to settle near his village of Moenkopi without requiring them to gain individual permission.
The Tuba City Trading Post was established in 1870. It dealt with the Navajo and Paiute who came to the area for the natural springs, as well as the Hopi already in the area.
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.
The Tuba City post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Tuba City rank for history?
Tuba City is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #49 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 Tuba City?
Two places: the Krenz-Kerley Trading Post (listed 1998) and the Tuba Trading Post (1996).
How old are the homes in Tuba City?
0.0% of Tuba City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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