More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #57 of 73 in New Mexico. What drives it
Most of Crownpoint was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1963 on, and the census since 2000.
Founding year: the first Crownpoint post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Crownpoint’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Crownpoint is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #57 of 73 in New Mexico. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Crownpoint’s overall grade.
New Mexico towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical New Mexico town has 2.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Crownpoint’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of New Mexico 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 (±2.1 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 Crownpoint’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Crownpoint was founded in 1912 by Samuel F. Stacher as an Indian agency to serve the Navajo people in the Pueblo Bonito Agency of northwestern New Mexico. A school house, agency office and power house were built to accommodate future planned establishments.
Chief Becenti, a local Navajo headman, is one of the first documented leaders of the area. He resided north of Crownpoint, where later in the 1930s a small community would be named after him, called Becenti Lake.
Crownpoint’s post office has been open since 1911.
Gone or out of use
Noserock Number OnemineNoserock Number Twomine
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Crownpoint’s history
What year was Crownpoint founded?
The Crownpoint post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Crownpoint rank for history?
Crownpoint is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #57 of 73 in New Mexico. 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 Crownpoint?
2% of Crownpoint’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (6), 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) 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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