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History · Markleeville

Markleeville’s post office opened in 1863, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Alpine County Courthouse and the Webster Schoolhouse, Old. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 2000.

1863first post office
2on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Markleeville began

When was Markleeville founded?

1863

The Markleeville post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 197 in 20002020 census: 191163 years
Founding year: the first Markleeville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Markleeville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Markleeville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Markleeville’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Markleeville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Markleeville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Markleeville.

Read it all →

Jacob J. Marklee founded a toll bridge crossing the Carson River in 1861. He aimed to tap into the traffic from the silver mining boom at Silver Mountain City. On June 23, 1862, he recorded a land claim of 160 acres in Douglas County, Nevada. A boundary survey took place, and the property ended up being in California. In 1863, Marklee died after being involved in a gunfight. When the Comstock Lode discovery took place, the town of Markleeville was founded on the Marklee property. Today, the Alpine County Courthouse sits on the former property, which is listed as a California Historical Landmark.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Markleeville, 1863 to 1956

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1863Post officeThe Markleeville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1928BuiltAlpine County Courthouse is built
  5. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Markleeville, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Markleeville road signs2015Markleeville road signsCalifornia State Route 88 Near2015California State Route 88 NearNutcracker2014NutcrackerTime Is Relative2013Time Is RelativeJohn Deere Hay Rake2011John Deere Hay Rake88 SAM 3257201088 SAM 3257
On the map

Markleeville on the map, 1956 to 1979

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Markleeville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Markleeville on the 1956 USGS mapMarkleeville on the 1979 USGS map1956Markleeville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Markleeville.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Markleeville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
Alpine County Courthouse
Alpine County Courthouse, built 1928Webster Schoolhouse, Old
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

20th Century Revivals1
Alpine County Courthouse20th Century Revivals · Built 1928
Webster Schoolhouse, OldBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Markleeville, census by census

010020020002020Peak: 210

Between 191 and 210 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Markleeville’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Markleeville’s post office has been open since 1863.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Marklee VillageShay Creek Summer Home Area
1cemetery inside Markleeville
Markleeville

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Markleeville’s history

What year was Markleeville founded?

The Markleeville post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Markleeville?

Two places: the Alpine County Courthouse (listed 2004) and the Webster Schoolhouse, Old (2005).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.