The story
Read it all →How North Las Vegas came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of North Las Vegas.
Native Americans were the first to inhabit the area. Paiute Indians settled in the area in around 700 AD.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Meridethmyers · Public domainC−History
History · North Las Vegas
North Las Vegas dates to 1919, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #18 of 42 in Nevada. What drives it
Most of North Las Vegas was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1940.
1919founded
3on the National Register
0.2%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Quick answers
How North Las Vegas began
When was North Las Vegas founded?
1919
North Las Vegas dates its founding to 1919 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1940.
First census: 3,875 in 19402020 census: 262,527107 years
How historic is North Las Vegas?
C−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1932.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives North Las Vegas’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Las Vegas is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #18 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 North Las Vegas’ overall grade.
Founding era1919, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.2% of homes (±0.1) · typical NV town 0.3% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register3 listings, 6 historic buildings, 0.2 per 10,000 residents · typical NV town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 19%
NewerOlder
Nevada towns of 2,500+ (42)Ahead of 59%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, North Las Vegas ranks #349 on History.
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 North Las Vegas’ 0.2 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Nevada towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at North Las Vegas’ size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1919.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 North Las Vegas’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start North Las Vegas’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how North Las Vegas’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
North Las Vegas’s post office has been open since 1932. Another post office, Vegas Verde, opened and closed inside today’s town.
North Las Vegas
Vegas Verde
19301980today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ApexDikeHoover CityJungletownLovellStewartValleyWann
Gone or out of use
Kyle RanchlocaleLead King Minemine
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
North Las Vegas, 1919 to 1994
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 20th century
- 1919FoundingNorth Las Vegas is established
- 1932
BuiltWashington School is built - 1932Post officeThe North Las Vegas post office opens
- 1932Post officeThe Vegas Verde post office opens
- 1932Post officeThe Vegas Verde post office closes
- 1952
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1967Born hereTyrone Thompson is born here
- 1985Born hereGerard Lawson is born here
- 1986
Born hereSequoia Holmes is born here - 1988
In the archiveKyle Ranch house - 1994
Born hereDonnel Pumphrey is born here
By decade
North Las Vegas, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1980s1 item
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
2008
2008
2008
2008
2007On the map
North Las Vegas on the map, 1952 to 1984
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North Las Vegas. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Las Vegas sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of North Las Vegas.
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.
Retake this viewKyle Ranch house, 1988
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on North Las Vegas’ page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
3 historic places in North Las Vegas
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Kyle Ranch
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Adobe1
Moderne1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
North Las Vegas, census by census
Grew from 3,875 people in 1940 to 262,527 in 2020, more than tenfold.
9 censuses, 1940–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on North Las Vegas’ Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →5 famous people were born in North Las Vegas
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about North Las Vegas’ history
What year was North Las Vegas founded?
In 1919, according to Wikidata. North Las Vegas’ post office opened in 1932, and the census of 1940 counted 3,875 people here.
How does North Las Vegas rank for history?
North Las Vegas is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #18 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 North Las Vegas?
Three places: the Kyle Ranch (listed 1975), the Washington School (1992) and the Spanish Trail, Old-Mormon Road Historic District (2001).
How old are the homes in North Las Vegas?
0.2% of North Las Vegas’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.3% for a Nevada town; the median home was built in 2003.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.