Winslow’s post office opened in 1882, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #4 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 34 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Winslow post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1900.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Winslow’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Winslow is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #4 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Winslow’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 Winslow’s 83.2 sits above most of its state (92% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 73 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1900.
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 Winslow’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1890Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Winslow, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
Winslow was named for either Edward F. Winslow, president of St. Louis–San Francisco Railway, which owned half of the old Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, or Tom Winslow, a prospector who lived in the area.
The Harvey House, designed by Mary Colter, opened in 1930; It closed in 1957, and—early in the 1960s—the Santa Fe Railway gutted much of it, transforming it into its offices. The railroad abandoned the property in 1994 and announced plans to tear it down. However, it was bought and restored by Allan Affeldt, and now is known as the La Posada Hotel.
U.S. Route 66 originally passed through the city. A contract to build Interstate 40 as a bypass north of Winslow was awarded at the end of 1977.
The Winslow post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1900.
How does Winslow rank for history?
Winslow is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #4 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 Winslow?
8 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Brigham City (listed 1978, the first), 4 historic districts with 34 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 73 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Winslow?
18% of Winslow’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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