Winslow is located at 1484 m on the Colorado Plateau. The community is located in the middle and far western part of the county directly on the border of Coconino County. Just east of the township line, the Little Colorado River runs through Homolovi Ruins State Park, and the mostly dry Ruby Wash flows through the eastern portion of town.
Winslow was founded in 1880 by the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad as a dividing point of the Atchison and Topeka Railroad and the Santa Fe Railroad, which later merged to form the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The town was named for Edward Francis Winslow, President of the St. Louis - San Francisco Railway, who also owned half of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. Others believe the site was named after prospector Tom Winslow who lived in the area.
The first train rolled in from Albuquerque in 1881. The first settler in 1880 was “Doc” Demerest, a hotel owner who ran his business in a tent for a while. A regular railway station was built in 1881 and a post office opened on January 10, 1882. The first stone building was built by J.H. Breed. In 1900 Winslow was incorporated.
Route 66 originally ran through the city and is now used by State Routes 87 and 99. Outside of the city, Route 66 was replaced by Interstate 40, which has served as the Winslow bypass since 1977.
Winslow was the largest city in northern Arizona from the 1900s through the 1950s.