Hawthorne’s post office opened in 1881, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #7 of 42 in Nevada. What drives it
Most of Hawthorne was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. Its Register listings are the Mineral County Courthouse, the Sixth Street School and the Hawthorne USO Building. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1950.
Founding year: the first Hawthorne post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hawthorne’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hawthorne is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #7 of 42 in Nevada. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hawthorne’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 Hawthorne’s 10.7 sits above most of its state (80% of Nevada 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 B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points). 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 Hawthorne’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first permanent settlement at Hawthorne was established in 1880.
The townsite was selected in 1880 by H. M. Yerington, president of the Carson and Colorado Railroad Co. as a division and distribution site for the new railroad.
The location was adjacent to the important Knapp's Station and Ferry Landing on the busy Esmeralda Toll Road from Wadsworth to Candelaria. Connecting roads were built to all of the surrounding mining areas.
H. M. Yerington named the new town "Hawthorne" after a lumberman, rancher, and law enforcement friend he knew in Carson City. The first train arrived on April 14, 1881, loaded with prospective buyers for the new town lots.
The Hawthorne post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hawthorne rank for history?
Hawthorne is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #7 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 Hawthorne?
Three places: the Mineral County Courthouse (listed 1982), the Sixth Street School (1999) and the Hawthorne USO Building (2005).
How old are the homes in Hawthorne?
8% of Hawthorne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 0.3% for a Nevada town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), 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) 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.
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