A National Register of Historic Places Determination of Eligibility for Randolph, Pinal County, Arizona

Summary

At the request of the community of Randolph, Arizona, and Salt River Project, WestLand Engineering & Environmental Services (WestLand) was asked to complete a National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) Eligibility Evaluation of the community of Randolph, located in Pinal County, Arizona. The documented area was defined by the formal community boundary of Randolph, an unincorporated community of Pinal County. The community is located within Sections 9 and 10 of Township 6 South, Range 8 East, as depicted on the Coolidge (2021) 7.5′ topographic quadrangle, Gila and Salt River Baseline and Meridian (Figures 1 and 2). The evaluated area consists of 166 acres encompassing the residential (and some commercial) portion of the community, for a total of 205 parcels located along Highway 87 and the former Sunset Route of the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Established in 1925, the community of Randolph was touted as the newest townsite to rival Phoenix. By the 1930s, however, the community was still a small, rural townsite largely populated by white farmers and ranchers and a handful of African American, Mexican American, and Native American farm laborers. By the next decade, local demographics and settlement patterns had shifted, and the community was largely African American and subdivided along racial lines. Whites settled to the west of Highway 87, and Blacks to the east of the highway. Over the next several decades, Randolph became a multi-generational African American community; a community that persists to the present day while many other similar historically Black communities in Arizona have not survived. The persistence of Randolph and its residents is evidenced in its setting, agrarian qualities, and long-standing cultural history. Throughout its development, Randolph has continued to retain its racial heritage expressed both through its population and its built environment, and today remains the oldest extant historically Black community in Arizona.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Salt River Project Digital Library

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Daniel Garcia

Record Identifiers

Westland Project No.(s): 10258

Cultural Resources Report No.(s): 2022-185

File Information