Gardnerville’s post office opened in 1881, and 7 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #11 of 42 in Nevada. What drives it
Most of Gardnerville was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. 7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1990.
Founding year: the first Gardnerville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gardnerville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gardnerville is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #11 of 42 in Nevada. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gardnerville’s overall grade.
Few Nevada towns list much on the Register (a typical Nevada town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Gardnerville’s 25.5 sits above most of its state (86% of Nevada towns have fewer) while its 14 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. 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 Gardnerville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gardnerville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1889Markleeville sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gardnerville.
Every building
Gardnerville, building by building, 1899–1912
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.
1899Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The community was named after John Gardner, a local cattleman.
It was a sundown town; a siren would be blown at 6 p.m. daily alerting Native Americans to leave town by sundown. The practice was ended in 2023 by SB 391 passed before the Nevada Legislature and signed into law by the governor. The area claimed that the nightly siren was a tribute to first responders.
The Gardnerville post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Gardnerville rank for history?
Gardnerville is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #11 of 42 in Nevada. 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 Gardnerville?
7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Carson Valley Hospital (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the Wilhelm and William Lampe Ranch, with 6 contributing buildings. 14 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Gardnerville?
0.2% of Gardnerville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.3% for a Nevada town; the median home was built in 2001.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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