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History · Baker

Baker’s post office opened in 1895, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Its Register listing is the Baker Ranger Station. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1956 on.

1895first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Baker’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Baker began

When was Baker founded?

1895

The Baker post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 41131 years
Founding year: the first Baker post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Baker’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Baker’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Baker, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Baker yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Baker is a census-designated place in southeastern White Pine County, Nevada, United States. It is located 5 miles (8.0 km) east of the main entrance of Great Basin National Park at the junction of State Routes 487 and 488. The town is named after an early settler, George W. Baker. As of the 2020 census, Baker had a population of 41. Public education is provided through the White Pine County School District. Baker 3-6 Elementary school is the only school in Baker.

Its first post office opened in 1895. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 68 to 41 (-40%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Baker, 1880 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nevada (NV) - White Pine County - White Pine Coun…
  3. 1895Post officeThe Baker post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1923Born hereCalvin Quate is born here
  6. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Baker, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nevada (NV) - White Pine County - White Pine County - ED 17-1 to 2718801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nevada (NV) -…
1890s–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 album
Today23 recent
2015-01-14 11 44 01 View west under some low clouds from Nevada State Route 487 (Baker Road) north of20152015-01-14 11 44 01 View west under some low clouds f…2014-08-09 15 07 06 View north along Nevada State Route 487 (Baker Road) about 6.7 miles north of the Utah state line n…20142014-08-09 15 07 06 View north along Nevada State Rou…2014-08-09 15 05 20 View north along Nevada State Route 487 (Baker Road) about 6.1 miles north of the Utah state line a…20142014-08-09 15 05 20 View north along Nevada State Rou…2014-08-09 15 04 34 View north along Nevada State Route 487 (Baker Road) about 6.1 miles north of the Utah state line in20142014-08-09 15 04 34 View north along Nevada State Rou…2014-08-09 15 02 41 View north along Nevada State Route 487 (Baker Road) about 5.9 miles north of the Utah state line in20142014-08-09 15 02 41 View north along Nevada State Rou…2014-08-09 14 59 18 View north along Nevada State Route 487 (Baker Road) about 4.5 miles north of the Utah state line n…20142014-08-09 14 59 18 View north along Nevada State Rou…2014-08-09 14 42 13 View south along Nevada State Route 487 (Baker Road) about 6.2 miles north of the Utah state line in20142014-08-09 14 42 13 View south along Nevada State Rou…2014-08-09 14 42 03 Businesses along Nevada State Route 487 (Baker Road) in central20142014-08-09 14 42 03 Businesses along Nevada State Rou…2014-08-09 14 41 20 View east at the east end of Nevada State Route 488 (Lehman Caves Road) at the junction with Nevada…20142014-08-09 14 41 20 View east at the east end of Neva…2014-08-09 14 39 57 View east near the east end of Nevada State Route 488 (Lehman Caves Road) near the junction with Ne…20142014-08-09 14 39 57 View east near the east end of Ne…2014-08-09 14 38 13 View east along Nevada State Route 488 (Lehman Caves Road) about 3.9 miles east of Great Basin Nati…20142014-08-09 14 38 13 View east along Nevada State Rout…2014-08-09 14 36 08 View east along Nevada State Route 488 (Lehman Caves Road) about 2.5 miles east of Great Basin Nati…20142014-08-09 14 36 08 View east along Nevada State Rout…2014-08-09 14 25 43 View west along Nevada State Route 488 (Lehman Caves Road) about 4.1 miles east of Great Basin Nati…20142014-08-09 14 25 43 View west along Nevada State Rout…2014-08-09 14 24 22 Speed Limit 40 miles per hour sign along Nevada State Route 488 (Lehman Caves Road) about 4.5 miles…20142014-08-09 14 24 22 Speed Limit 40 miles per hour sig…2014-08-09 14 22 24 Central20142014-08-09 14 22 24 Central2014-08-09 14 22 02 First reassurance sign along westbound Nevada State Route 488 (Lehman Caves Road) in20142014-08-09 14 22 02 First reassurance sign along west…2014-08-09 14 21 23 View west from the east end of Nevada State Route 488 (Lehman Caves Road) at the junction with Neva…20142014-08-09 14 21 23 View west from the east end of Ne…2014-08-09 14 19 50 View south along Nevada State Route 487 (Baker Road) about 6.2 miles north of the Utah state line a…20142014-08-09 14 19 50 View south along Nevada State Rou…2014-08-09 14 17 36 View south along Nevada State Route 487 (Baker Road) about 7.4 miles north of the Utah state line n…20142014-08-09 14 17 36 View south along Nevada State Rou…From the jeep2011From the jeepMainStreetBakerNevadaLookingSouthMarch20102010MainStreetBakerNevadaLookingSouthMarch2010BakerNevadaPostOfficeMarch20102010BakerNevadaPostOfficeMarch2010Rural views on water2008Rural views on water
On the map

Baker on the map, 1956 to 1963

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

Baker on the 1956 USGS mapBaker on the 1963 USGS map1956Ely sheet · 1:250,000

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

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.

1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nevada (NV) - White Pine County - White Pine County - ED 17-1 to 27
Retake this view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Nevada (NV) - White Pine County - White Pine County - ED 17-1 to 27, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Baker’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Baker

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Baker Ranger Station
Baker Ranger Station
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Baker Ranger StationVernacular

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

Questions about Baker’s history

What year was Baker founded?

The Baker post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Baker?

One place: the Baker Ranger Station (listed 1995).

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 (24), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.