Research Tools: Tucson Directories

Even before the telephone came to Tucson, directories of businesses and residents were published. This first image is from the 1901 directory, page 66. It shows that a person named F B French lived at 637 S 4th Avenue, my house. If you are scrolling through the PDF copy of the directory, it will show as page 89 because of the un-numbered pages which are counted by my PDF software. If you scroll through to page 109 of the pdf, you will find another name, O H J Johnson, associated with the same address. This is page 86 of the paper directory. Paper copies of the directories can be found at the historic society but they are in resident name order so finding a particular address is very difficult. 

ARIZONA STATE HISTORIC PROPERTY INVENTORY

For those seeking more background on a historic home, here is another source. The Arizona State Historic Property Inventory is the survey report which was written in 1974 as part of the application for National Historic Residential status. The entry for each property includes a description of the house, information regarding the owner at that time drawings of the house footprint and pictures. Like any history resource, not all information may be accurate. For example, my house is listed as constructed in 1905. The Sanborn insurance map shows the house in 1901. The 1901 Tucson directory lists two men living at the address. Nevertheless, The description and period photos give me an idea of what changes have been made to the house since 1974. Additional work was done in 1993 so some information is from that year.

If you are doing a project requiring historic review, The information will tell you how the property was at the time the historic district was formed. The board will want to retain the details of the house during the period of significance (1860s to 1945). The 1974 survey is the earliest reliable information available.