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C−History
History · Vail

Vail’s post office opened in 1901, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #62 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it

Most of Vail was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2007. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1957 on.

1901first post office
4on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Vail began

When was Vail founded?

1901

The Vail post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 13,604125 years

How historic is Vail?

C−

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Vail post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Vail’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vail is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #62 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 Vail’s overall grade.
Founding era1901, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.4) · typical AZ town 0.4% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register4 listings, 10 historic buildings, 6.1 per 10,000 residents · typical AZ town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%
NewerOlder
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 56%

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 Vail’s 6.1 sits above most of its state (75% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 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 Vail’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Vail’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Vail’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view5 of Roger Puta's Signals: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

4 historic places in Vail

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
10
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Cienega Bridge
Cienega BridgeColossal Cave Preservation Park Historic DistrictVail Post Office, OldShrine of Santa Rita in the Desert
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Pueblo Revival1
Adobe1
Cienega BridgeStructure
All 4 listings
Colossal Cave Preservation Park Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992Vail Post Office, OldBuilding · listed 2011Shrine of Santa Rita in the DesertBuilding · listed 2015

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

The story so far

Vail, in brief

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

Vail is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It is 24 miles (39 km) southeast of Tucson. The population was 10,208 at the 2010 census, up from 2484 in the 2000 census. The area is known for the nearby Colossal Cave, a large cave system, and the Rincon Mountains District of Saguaro National Park, a top tourism spot within Arizona. Vail was originally a siding and water stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was located on the last section of flat land before the train tracks followed the old wagon road into the Cienega Creek bed. Vail was named after pioneer ranchers Edward and Walter Vail, who established ranches in the area in the late 19th century. Va…

Its first post office opened in 1901. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 10,208 to 13,604 (+33%).

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

Timeline

Vail, 1901 to 1996

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901Post officeThe Vail post office opens
  3. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1981In the archive5 of Roger Puta's Signals
  5. 1996Born hereAndre Jackson is born here
By decade

Vail, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
5 of Roger Puta's Signals19815 of Roger Puta's Signals
1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today7 recent
William Pounds Debate2022William Pounds DebateUP 8116, Vail, Ariz. - Flickr - chief huddleston2019UP 8116, Vail, Ariz. - Flickr - chief huddlestonVail, Az sign 20172017Vail, Az sign 2017Vail, United States (Unsplash)2015Vail, United States (Unsplash)Northern cardinal2014Northern cardinalAlong I10 near2014Along I10 nearAZMap-doton-Vail2004AZMap-doton-Vail
On the map

Vail on the map, 1957 to 1996

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

Vail on the 1957 USGS mapVail on the 1981 USGS mapVail on the 1996 USGS map1957Rincon Valley 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 Vail.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

5 of Roger Puta's Signals
Retake this view5 of Roger Puta's Signals, 1981

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Vail’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Vail’s post office has been open since 1901.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Mountain ViewNew Tucson
1cemetery inside Vail
Vail Childrens'

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.

Rincon ValleyIts storyD−Tucson135 historic placesB+

Questions about Vail’s history

What year was Vail founded?

The Vail post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Vail rank for history?

Vail is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #62 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 Vail?

4 listings: 2 buildings, 1 historic district, the Colossal Cave Preservation Park Historic District, with 6 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 10 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Vail?

0.0% of Vail’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 2007.

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 (8), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.