Nevada dates to 1855, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #71 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Vernon County Jail, Sheriff's House and Office, the Vernon County Courthouse and the Infirmary Building, Missouri State Hospital Number 3. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Nevada’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nevada is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #71 of 247 in Missouri. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Nevada’s overall grade.
Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Nevada’s 3.8 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). Two sources give 1855.
Founding year: Wikidata (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’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
When French explorers entered the region in the late 17th century, they encountered the indigenous Osage people, who controlled a vast area extending west from present-day Saint Louis, including territories now within several states. The Osage Village State Historic Site, formerly known as the Carrington Osage Village Site, is located on a hilltop above the Osage River valley. Archeological evidence shows an Osage band that lived there had nearly 200 lodges and an estimated population of 2,000 to 3,000; they occupied the area from about 1700–1775. They were the most influential people in the region and were integral to the fur trade.
Passages that mention Nevada, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Vernon County, Missouri1911 · page 644Read the page →
Read the text
quarter of section 20, the south half of the southwest quarter and the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 17, was laid out in the spring of 1886 on the building of the Nevada & Alinden railroad, now the Joplin branch of the Alissouri Pacific railroad, by the Bronaugh Town Company. It was named for AY. C. Bronaugh, the owner of the land where it was built, a resident of Henry county.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Vernon County, Missouri1911 · page 843Read the page →
Read the text
supplemented this with a three-year course at Tabor College, Iowa, in the meantime teaching in the district schools in Nebraska and Kansas. During the years from 1891 to 1893 he taught in the public schools of Nevada, including one year in the Nevada High School, and during his vacations and other spare time turned his attention to the study of law in the law office of Messrs.
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, 1855 to 1962
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1855, according to Wikidata. Nevada’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1880 counted 1,913 people here.
How does Nevada rank for history?
Nevada is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #71 of 247 in Missouri. 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?
Three places: the Vernon County Jail, Sheriff's House and Office (listed 1977), the Vernon County Courthouse (1997) and the Infirmary Building, Missouri State Hospital Number 3 (2005).
How old are the homes in Nevada?
28% of Nevada’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1959.
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 (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
