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History · Tusayan

Tusayan’s post office opened in 1934, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Tusayan was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listings are the Tusayan Lookout Tree and the Moqui Ranger Station. Below: maps from 1979 on and the census since 2000.

1934first post office
2on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Tusayan began

When was Tusayan founded?

1934

The Tusayan post office opened in 1934, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 2010.

First census: 562 in 20002020 census: 60392 years
Founding year: the first Tusayan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 2010.The full story ↓

What stands out about Tusayan’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 Tusayan are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tusayan’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tusayan’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
The story

How Tusayan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tusayan.

Read it all →

The community first explored incorporation in the early 1990s. Legislation passed to allow it, but was challenged and defeated as unconstitutional because it applied only to Tusayan. In 2003, new legislation was passed allowing any community of 500 or more to incorporate if located in proximity to a national park or monument. The Tusayan-Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce appointed a task force of who studied the issue for four years. In June 2007, they made a neutral presentation to the community, offering revenue projections and an overview of pros and cons. In April 2008, about 30 voters signed a petition to put the question of incorporation on the September 2, 2008, ballot. The measure was defeated by a vote of 78 to 62.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tusayan, 1934 to 1979

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1934Post officeThe Tusayan post office opens
  3. 1937Post officeThe Tusayan post office closes
  4. 1979On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Tusayan, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Tusayan, AZ 86023, USA - panoramio (4)2014Tusayan, AZ 86023, USA - panoramio (4)Tusayan, AZ 86023, USA - panoramio (3)2014Tusayan, AZ 86023, USA - panoramio (3)Tusayan, AZ 86023, USA - panoramio (2)2014Tusayan, AZ 86023, USA - panoramio (2)Tusayan, AZ 86023, USA - panoramio (1)2014Tusayan, AZ 86023, USA - panoramio (1)Stones2014StonesTusayan entrance sign and town2012Tusayan entrance sign and townGrand Canyon National Park Tusayan South Roundabout 06072012Grand Canyon National Park Tusayan South Roundabout 0…Grand Canyon National Park Tusayan South Roundabout 05362012Grand Canyon National Park Tusayan South Roundabout 0…Grand Canyon National Park Tusayan Parking Area 07662012Grand Canyon National Park Tusayan Parking Area 0766Arizona, Tusayan, Wikiekspedycja 2012 USA crew2012Arizona, Tusayan, Wikiekspedycja 2012 USA crewUSMC-091215-M-8334L-0012009USMC-091215-M-8334L-001AZMap-doton-Tusayan2004AZMap-doton-Tusayan
On the map

Tusayan on the map, 1979 to 1983

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

Tusayan on the 1979 USGS mapTusayan on the 1983 USGS map1979Tusayan West 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 Tusayan.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Tusayan

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
Tusayan Lookout Tree
Tusayan Lookout TreeMoqui Ranger Station
BuildingsSites

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Rustic Architecture1
Bungalow1
Tusayan Lookout TreeSite
Moqui Ranger StationLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements

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

People over time

Tusayan, census by census

010020030040050060020002020Peak: 603

Between 558 and 603 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Tusayan had its own post office from 1934 to 1937.

Tusayan
1934–1937
19301980today
Gone or out of use
Tusayan Airportairport

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

Questions about Tusayan’s history

What year was Tusayan founded?

The Tusayan post office opened in 1934, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 2010.

What is on the National Register in Tusayan?

Two places: the Tusayan Lookout Tree (listed 1992) and the Moqui Ranger Station (1993).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.