CONNECTING COMMUNITY
THROUGH LOCAL HISTORY
What is the Vail Preservation Society?
Vail Preservation Society (VPS) was founded in 2006 to preserve vanishing local history and save the community’s surviving built environment. The 1908 Old Vail Post Office has been at the center of those efforts, but it is not our sole purpose. Over the past 17 years VPS has grown into a community building organization that uses historic preservation and local history as the glue to bind our community together through a period of unprecedented growth and development.
The efforts of VPS take many forms including:
- Educational Programs with Local Impact
- Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings
- Research and Interpretation
- Tradition Building Events
- Public Art
- Arizona Main Street Program
Where is Vail?
Vail Arizona is located southeast of Tucson. Founded as a railroad siding in 1880, Vail has never formally incorporated yet it has a rich human history stretching back millennium to the Hohokam. The original townsite of Vail is between the railroad tracks at the intersection of Colossal Cave Road and historic Highway 80, but like many rural communities, people as far south as mile post 49 and as far north as the Rincon Valley identify with Vail. Like Chauncey Kelley said in the documentary, Voices of Vail, “Vail is more of a spirit than a spot.”
What Can I do to help?
VPS is always looking for volunteers to help with community programs, event planning, education projects, archival and collections tasks, fund raising, and more. If you are interested in volunteering please fill out this form.
If you cannot volunteer at this time but would still like to help, please consider becoming a member of VPS or making a one-time donation. Your support means VPS can continue to provide Vail with unique educational opportunities, historic preservation, and community building events.
