Phoenix - The Arizona State Historic Preservation Office, a division of Arizona State Parks and Trails, announced that the Randolph Townsite Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The unincorporated Town of Randolph is located in Pinal County, Arizona and is commonly known as the oldest predominantly African American community in Arizona.

Established in 1925 and named after Southern Pacific Railroad Vice-President Epes Randolph, the community of Randolph was marketed by boosters as the newest townsite to rival Phoenix. Throughout its development, Randolph has retained its unique heritage, expressed both through its population and its built environment, and today it remains the oldest extant historically Black community in Arizona associated with the Great Migration of the early to mid-20th century.

The National Register is the nation’s list of properties considered worthy of preservation. Befitting its unique history and significance within the broader African American community in Arizona, the National Register nomination for Randolph represents a unique property type recognized by the National Parks Service. The Randolph Townsite Historic District is listed as a traditional cultural place in recognition of the role the district plays in both the history and continuing cultural identity of the Randolph community.

“The traditional cultural place designation establishes the Randolph Townsite Historic District as a ‘one of a kind’ in Arizona,” said State Historic Preservation Officer Kathryn Leonard. “Its significance is less tied to the buildings in the district than it is to the people who lived there.”

By the early 1930s, the community remained a small rural townsite populated by predominantly white farmers and ranchers and a small but growing population of African American, Mexican American, and Native American farm laborers. Migration of black families from the south and Midwest, spurred on by crop failures wrought by the Dust Bowl and opportunities for work and home ownership, resulted in a major demographic shift; by the end of the decade, Randolph was a thriving community with a unique multiethnic African/Native/Mexican American character boasting multiple schools, churches, and restaurants.

Although the advent of mechanized cotton production in the 1960s-1980s caused many Randolph families to move to metropolitan centers such as Phoenix and Tucson, members who have moved away regularly return for holidays, events, family gatherings, funerals, and proudly identify themselves as Randolphians. In recent years, the Randolph Community has celebrated its history at its annual Juneteenth celebration. Community leaders are working with historians and archivists at Arizona State University to collect oral histories.

The National Register listing was sponsored by Salt River Project (SRP) and is one of many commitments made to Randolph by the utility, which has operated a natural gas generating station adjacent to the community since 2019. 

“SRP is proud to have supported the Randolph community in achieving this National Register listing that recognizes Randolph’s significance to the history of our state,” said Dan Garcia, SRP Senior Cultural Resources Management Specialist. “We look forward to our ongoing work with the community as we continue to follow through on SRP’s commitments.”

Randolph resident Ron Jordan said, “For as long as I can remember living in Randolph as a child to the present day, all we ever done was follow the rules of life, but we were always in second place, neglected, overlooked, environmentally abused and basically shunned, until now as a new sun has risen and a new and improved light has begun to shine upon us and the past is surfacing and being recorded for decades to see.“

Listing on the National Register is honorary and imposes no restrictions on property owners use or improvement of their properties. In Arizona, residential non-income producing properties listed in the National Register are eligible for a reduction in property taxes.  For more information about the National Register of Historic Places, contact the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office at azshpo@azstateparks.gov.