Yuma was first counted by the census in 1860, and 49 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #25 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Yuma was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. 49 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Yuma Crossing and Associated Sites, a National Historic Landmark, and four historic districts with 155 buildings between them. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1860.
Yuma first appears in the census in 1860. Three smaller post offices, Colorado City (1857), Arizona (1858) and Arizona City (1869), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 130 in 18602020 census: 95,548166 years
How historic is Yuma?
B−
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Yuma is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #25 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Yuma’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Yuma ranks #253 on History.
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 Yuma’s 20.4 sits above most of its state (83% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 204 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Yuma’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: the first census (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 Yuma’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Yuma’s post office has been open since 1866. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Colorado City
1857–1858
Arizona
1858–1863
Yuma
1866–today
Arizona City
1869–1873
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ArabyAraby Acres Mobile Home ParkCapri Mobile ParkChaparral Mobile Home ParkDesert Palms Mobile EstatesDesert Royal Mobile ParkDunes West Mobile Home ParkMelody Mobile CourtMesa Terrace Mobile EstatesSun Vista Resort Mobile Home ParkSunrise Mobile Home EstatesSunset Mobile Home ParkWestward Village Mobile Park
Gone or out of use
Yuma Army Air FieldmilitaryYuma Territorial PrisonbuildingYuma Territorial Prisonbuilding
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Yuma
Desert Lawn Memorial ParkYuma Pioneer
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The area's first inhabitants were Native American cultures and historic tribes. Their descendants now occupy the Cocopah and Quechan reservations.
In 1540, Spanish colonial expeditions under Hernando de Alarcón and Melchior Díaz visited the area and immediately recognized the natural crossing of the Colorado River as an ideal spot for a city. The Colorado River narrows to slightly under 1,000 feet (300 m) wide in one area. Military expeditions that crossed the Colorado River at the Yuma Crossing include Juan Bautista de Anza (1774), the Mormon Battalion (1848) and the California Column (1862).
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.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Yuma.
Every building
Yuma, building by building, 1893–1927
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.
The Yuma post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1888.
How does Yuma rank for history?
Yuma is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #25 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 Yuma?
49 listings: 42 buildings, 4 historic districts with 155 contributing buildings, 2 structures, and 1 object. 204 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Yuma?
2% of Yuma’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (1), Wikidata (9), the National Register of Historic Places (49), 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.
★ Landmark
1915
1920
1923
