More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #98 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Wellton was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1926 on, and the census since 1970.
Founding year: the first Wellton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Wellton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wellton is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #98 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wellton’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 Wellton’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (29% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 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 Wellton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wellton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Wellton is a town in Yuma County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 census, the population of the town is 2,375. It is part of the Yuma metropolitan area.
Its first post office opened in 1904. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,882 to 2,375 (-18%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
The Wellton post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Wellton rank for history?
Wellton is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #98 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.
How old are the homes in Wellton?
2% of Wellton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 (7), the Library of Congress (11), 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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