The story
Read it all →How Nevada City came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Nevada City.
The settlement was originally a Nisenan village named Ustumah.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
AHistory
History · Nevada City
Nevada City’s post office opened in 1850, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #12 of 847 in California. What drives it
9 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 70 buildings. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
1850first post office
9on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
7famous people
Quick answers
How Nevada City began
When was Nevada City founded?
1850
The Nevada City post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 4,022 in 18802020 census: 3,152176 years
How historic is Nevada City?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 88% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Nevada City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Nevada City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nevada City is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #12 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Nevada City’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194043.0% of homes (±13.2) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register9 listings, 80 historic buildings, 252 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 88%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)#12 of 847
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Nevada City’s 252 sits above most of its state (99% of California towns have fewer) while its 80 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±13.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Nevada City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A historic districtThe Nevada City Downtown Historic District takes in 70 historic buildings.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1912, drew every building in Nevada City.Landmarks on the Register9 places on the National Register.Old housesHalf of Nevada City’s homes were built before 1947.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
9 listings protect 80 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
80
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Nevada Theatre
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Mother Lode/Gold Country1
Georgian1
Classic Revival1
Greek Revival1
Board-and-Batten1
Classical1
Nevada TheatreMother Lode/Gold Country · Built 1865
Martin Luther Marsh HouseGeorgian
National Exchange HotelBuilt 1856
Nevada City Firehouse No. 2Classic Revival
Ott's Assay OfficeBuilding
Aaron A. Sargent HouseBoard-and-Batten · Built 1856
Nevada BreweryBuilding
Nevada City Downtown Historic DistrictClassical
All 9 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Nevada City, building by building, 1885–1912
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1885Sheet 2 of 3Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Nevada City in 1880
Passages that mention Nevada City, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Nevada County, California1880 · page 221Read the page →
Read the text
HOTTINGER. B. M., lives at Quaker Kill, six miles from Nevada City, his post office; he was burn in Germany in 1839, and in 1856 went to Indiana, and in 1859 e:ossed the plains and was in Butte county two years; he then went to Washoe and was engaged in blacksmi thing and afterwards was in the same business in Nevada City one year: he then came to Quaker Hill and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Nevada County, California1880 · page 62Read the page →
Read the text
This, the first settled town of the township and from which it derived its name, lies near the summit of the mountains, twenty-six miles from Nevada City. The first mining was done here in the ravines, early in the spring of 1850 The fo lowing year the deep diggings were discovered and opened.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Nevada City, 1850 to 1998
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1850Post officeThe Nevada City post office opens
- 1851
In the archiveNevada Journal masthead (April 19, 1851) - 1856BuiltNational Exchange Hotel is built
- 1856BuiltAaron A. Sargent House is built
- 1864
Born hereTully Marshall is born here - 1865BuiltNevada Theatre is built
- 1871
In the archiveAlpine Lake, in the Sierra Nevada, California - 20th century
- 1900
In the archiveFrom Cloud's Rest (N.E.) to Cathedral Peaks, in the snow-clad Sierra Nevada Mountains, Ca… - 1907
BuiltNevada City Free Public Library is built - 1927
In the archiveFrom Cloud's Rest S.E. to Mt. Clark, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California - 1948
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1980Born hereLuke Edwards is born here
- 1983
Born hereAlela Diane is born here - 1998
Born hereAlexis Alford is born here
By decade
Nevada City, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1850s–1900s9 items
1851Nevada Journal masthead (April 19, 1851)Document
1854The Nevada Journal masthead (February 3, 1854)Document![Mountain camp, Siera [sic] Nevada](https://images.townratings.com/story/1268/181cea88e8fefb6b62c6-s.jpg)
1859Mountain camp, Siera [sic] Nevada1871Alpine Lake, in the Sierra Nevada, California1900From Cloud's Rest (N.E.) to Cathedral Peaks, in the s…
1905Fallen Leaf Lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Cali…
1905In the high Sierra Nevada, altitude of lake 8000 ft.,…
1905Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe and Mt. Tallac (9715 ft.) Sie…
1905Steamer Tahoe on Lake Tahoe (altitude 6700 ft.) in th…1920s2 items
19281930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your albumToday2 recent
2026
2011On the map
Nevada City on the map, 1948 to 2000
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Nevada City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Nevada City sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Nevada City.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
![Mountain camp, Siera [sic] Nevada](https://images.townratings.com/story/1268/181cea88e8fefb6b62c6-l.jpg)
Retake this viewMountain camp, Siera [sic] Nevada, 1859
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Nevada City’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Nevada City, census by census
Between 1,701 and 4,022 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Nevada City’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →7 famous people were born in Nevada City
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Nevada City’s post office has been open since 1850.
Hamlets and corners on the map
ProvidenceWokodot
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Nevada City
Nevada City JewishPioneerSaint Canice
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Finish Nevada City’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Questions about Nevada City’s history
What year was Nevada City founded?
The Nevada City post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Nevada City rank for history?
Nevada City is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #12 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Nevada City?
9 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Nevada Theatre (listed 1973, the first), and 1 historic district, the Nevada City Downtown Historic District, with 70 contributing buildings. 80 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Nevada City?
43% of Nevada City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±13.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1947.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (9), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.