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History · Shoshone

Shoshone dates to 1910

Most of Shoshone was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1961. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 2000.

1910founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Shoshone began

When was Shoshone founded?

1910

Shoshone dates its founding to 1910 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 2000.

First census: 52 in 20002020 census: 22116 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1915.The full story ↓

What stands out about Shoshone’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 Shoshone are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Shoshone’s homes were built before 1961.
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Start Shoshone’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Shoshone’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 Shoshone came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Shoshone.

Read it all →

Shoshone was founded in 1910 by Ralph Jacobus "Dad" Fairbanks, a Death Valley businessman and veteran of the nearby Greenwater Copper Rush.

A majority of its early buildings were repurposed from Greenwater. The town remains owned by his descendants; his daughter Estelle Francis (October 10, 1892 – March 6, 1970) married Charles Brown, a former Greenwater sheriff and future state senator (December 12, 1883 – May 9, 1963) and they continued management of the town after Fairbanks left. A post office operated at Shoshone from 1915, closed for part of 1920.

Shoshone was a stop on the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad which shut down in 1940.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Shoshone, 1910 to 1951

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1910
    FoundingShoshone is established
  3. 1915Post officeThe Shoshone post office opens
  4. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Shoshone, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Untitled photo2013Untitled photoNormal Faults in Shoshone in California 22010Normal Faults in Shoshone in California 2Normal Fault in2010Normal Fault inPumice roadcut on CA 178 near2009Pumice roadcut on CA 178 nearShoshone Limits2004Shoshone LimitsShoshone Limit Closeup2004Shoshone Limit Closeup
On the map

Shoshone on the map, 1951 to 1984

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

Shoshone on the 1951 USGS mapShoshone on the 1984 USGS map1951Shoshone 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 Shoshone.

People over time

Shoshone, census by census

020002020Peak: 52

Between 22 and 52 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Questions about Shoshone’s history

What year was Shoshone founded?

In 1910, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Shoshone’s post office opened in 1915, and the census of 2000 counted 52 people here.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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), 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.