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History · Rough Rock

Rough Rock’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Rough Rock. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Rough Rock (Navajo: Tséchʼízhí) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The population was 414 at the 2010 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 414 to 428 (+3%). Half of its homes were built before 1988.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rough Rock yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Rough Rock’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rough Rock’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Rough Rock

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ATAndy TsihnahjinnieWriting & Arts
By decade

Rough Rock, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Rough Rock is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Rough Rock has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Chinle Franciscan Mission Historic District in Chinle, 24.9 miles away.

Rough Rock and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Rough Rock. Tap a dot.
Chinle Franciscan Mission Historic District

Closest to Rough Rock

Chinle Franciscan Mission Historic DistrictChinle · District24.9mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Chinle Franciscan Mission Historic District’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Rough Rock?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Rough Rock’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Rough Rock, AZView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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