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History · Montello

Montello dates to 1904

Most of Montello was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1967 on.

1904founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Montello’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Montello began

When was Montello founded?

1904

Montello dates its founding to 1904 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1912.

2020 census: 66122 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1912.The full story ↓

What stands out about Montello’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 Montello’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Montello’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 view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Montello came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Montello.

Read it all →

The first permanent settlement at Montello was made in 1869. The town of Montello was established in 1904 as a "division point" (operations base) for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Montello's development was prompted by the construction of the Lucin Cutoff across the Great Salt Lake in Utah, a line that bypassed the area's former division point town of Terrace, Utah. Many of the original houses in Montello were moved there from Terrace and nearby Kelton, Utah. Montello was originally named "Bauvard", and received its current name in 1912. The word Montello is Italian for "little mountain" and was probably given by one of the early Italian settlers.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Montello, 1850 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Nevada - Elko County - ED 4-13, ED 4-14, …
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904
    FoundingMontello is established
  5. 1912Post officeThe Montello post office opens
  6. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Montello, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Nevada - Elko County - ED 4-13, ED 4-14, ED 4-15, ED 4-1618501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Nevad…
Today11 recent
2014-06-11 17 42 31 View of Pilot Peak from Nevada State Route 233 (Montello Road) 21.9 miles north of the southern ter…20142014-06-11 17 42 31 View of Pilot Peak from Nevada St…2014-06-11 17 42 22 View south along Nevada State Route 233 (Montello Road) 21.9 miles north of the southern terminus n…20142014-06-11 17 42 22 View south along Nevada State Rou…2014-06-11 17 40 19 View north along Nevada State Route 233 (Montello Road) 23.0 miles north of the southern terminus in20142014-06-11 17 40 19 View north along Nevada State Rou…2014-06-11 17 39 07 View north along Nevada State Route 233 (Montello Road) 23.1 miles north of the southern terminus in20142014-06-11 17 39 07 View north along Nevada State Rou…2014-06-11 17 38 57 View south along Nevada State Route 233 (Montello Road) 23.1 miles north of the southern terminus in20142014-06-11 17 38 57 View south along Nevada State Rou…2014-06-11 17 37 25 View of Pilot Peak from Nevada State Route 233 (Montello Road) 23.8 miles north of the southern ter…20142014-06-11 17 37 25 View of Pilot Peak from Nevada St…2014-06-11 17 09 24 Buildings along Nevada State Route 233 (Montello Road) in20142014-06-11 17 09 24 Buildings along Nevada State Rout…2014-06-11 17 08 37 View north along Nevada State Route 233 (Montello Road) 22.8 miles north of the southern terminus in20142014-06-11 17 08 37 View north along Nevada State Rou…2014-06-11 17 08 00 View north along Nevada State Route 233 (Montello Road) 22.4 miles north of the southern terminus n…20142014-06-11 17 08 00 View north along Nevada State Rou…Northernmost of the Jackson Mines, Looking SE, Elko Co., NV2009Northernmost of the Jackson Mines, Looking SE, Elko C…Jackson Mines, Pilot Peak on the left, Looking S-SE, Elko Co., NV2009Jackson Mines, Pilot Peak on the left, Looking S-SE, …
On the map

Montello on the map, 1967 to 1981

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

Montello on the 1967 USGS mapMontello on the 1981 USGS map1967Montello sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Nevada - Elko County - ED 4-13, ED 4-14, ED 4-15, ED 4-16
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Nevada - Elko County - ED 4-13, ED 4-14, ED 4-15, ED 4-16, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Montello’s history

What year was Montello founded?

In 1904, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Montello’s post office opened in 1912.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.