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History · Bunkerville

Bunkerville dates to 1877, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Bunkerville was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Its Register listings are the Parley Hunt House and the Thomas Leavitt House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 2000.

1877founded
2on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bunkerville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bunkerville began

When was Bunkerville founded?

1877

Bunkerville dates its founding to 1877 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 2000.

First census: 1,014 in 20002020 census: 1,069149 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bunkerville’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 Bunkerville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDudley Henry Leavitt: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Bunkerville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bunkerville.

Read it all →

Bunkerville was settled in 1877 by Mormon pioneers from Utah. It is named after Edward Bunker, who was already a seasoned pioneer settler before he came to Bunkerville, having pioneered the settlement at Santa Clara, Utah.

Bunker, on his own initiative but with permission from Brigham Young, moved his large polygamous family 25 miles (40 km) southwest to Bunkerville after the settlers in Santa Clara had failed to live the communitarian United Order. The residents of Bunkerville, so named by Brigham Young, established a new communal effort, sharing the work and the fruits of their work, with all land being held in common. The communal experiment ended in 1880.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bunkerville, 1877 to 1972

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877
    FoundingBunkerville is established
  3. 1879Post officeThe Bunkerville post office opens
  4. 1893Born hereLeRoy R. Hafen is born here
  5. 1898Born hereJuanita Brooks is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1910In the archiveDudley Henry Leavitt
  8. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1972Born hereRyan Bundy is born here
By decade

Bunkerville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Dudley Henry Leavittc. 1910Dudley Henry Leavitt
1920s–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
Today10 recent
Thomas Leavitt House - street view2014Thomas Leavitt House - street viewThomas Leavitt House - Early Bunkerville Settler Marker2014Thomas Leavitt House - Early Bunkerville Settler Mark…Thomas Dudley Leavitt House2010Thomas Dudley Leavitt HouseVirgin River valley 22007Virgin River valley 2Virgin River valley 12007Virgin River valley 1Bunkerville from Virgin Peak 12007Bunkerville from Virgin Peak 1Bunkerville Nevada 22007Bunkerville Nevada 2Bunkerville Nevada 12007Bunkerville Nevada 1Old Plant Building2005Old Plant BuildingOld Plant2005Old Plant
On the map

Bunkerville on the map, 1957 to 1985

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

Bunkerville on the 1957 USGS mapBunkerville on the 1985 USGS map1957Mesquite 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 Bunkerville.

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.

Dudley Henry Leavitt
Retake this viewDudley Henry Leavitt, c. 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Bunkerville

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Parley Hunt House
Parley Hunt HouseThomas Leavitt House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular2
Hall and Parlor1
I-House1
Parley Hunt HouseVernacular
Thomas Leavitt HouseVernacular

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

People over time

Bunkerville, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40020002020Peak: 1,303

Between 1,014 and 1,303 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Bunkerville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Juanita BrooksAmerican historian · b. 1898
L
LeRoy R. HafenAmerican historian · b. 1893
R
Ryan BundyAmerican cattle rancher and politician · b. 1972
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Mesquite2 historic placesC

Questions about Bunkerville’s history

What year was Bunkerville founded?

In 1877, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bunkerville’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 2000 counted 1,014 people here.

What is on the National Register in Bunkerville?

Two places: the Parley Hunt House (listed 1991) and the Thomas Leavitt House (1991).

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 (11), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.