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Little A'Le'Inn Rachel NV 2Photo: Cooper, in Wiki Commons known as Cooper.ch 18:45, 7 August 2006 (UTC) · CC BY-SA 2.5
–Not graded
History · Rachel

Rachel dates to 1973

Most of Rachel was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1987 on.

1973founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Rachel’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Rachel began

When was Rachel founded?

1973

Rachel dates its founding to 1973 (Wikipedia’s history).

2020 census: 4853 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓

What stands out about Rachel’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rachel’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rachel’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 viewArea51 Research Center front: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Rachel came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rachel.

Read it all →

Rachel was founded in May 1973 by a local alfalfa farmer named D.C. Day. The community was first known as Tempiute Village, and then later as Sand Springs.

On February 15, 1978, the town was renamed to Rachel after the first baby born in the valley, Rachel Jones (1978–1980). Rachel Jones died on May 24, 1980. In memory of her, Rachel residents created a cemetery and memorial park. Rachel Jones was not buried at Rachel Cemetery.

Electricity arrived in Rachel on March 22, 1978, supplied to the Penoyer Valley by the Penoyer Valley Electric Cooperative.

In 1980, the Rachel Baptist Mission, Rachel's only church, began service in a donated mobile home. Since then, a part-time pastor has come to Rachel for religious services every Sunday morning.

ChaptersEarly yearsMid-air collisionEvents

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rachel, 1973 to 1997

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1973
    FoundingRachel is established
  3. 1987On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1997In the archiveArea51 Research Center front
By decade

Rachel, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s3 items
Area51 Research Center front1997Area51 Research Center frontArea51 Research Center1997Area51 Research CenterRachel NV Hwy3751997Rachel NV Hwy375
Today21 recent
Nevada Local selling Alcoholic Beverages at Alienstock 20192019Nevada Local selling Alcoholic Beverages at Alienstoc…Alienstock 2019 Music Festival2019Alienstock 2019 Music FestivalMy gorgeous wife at the gateway to Area 51, Rachel in Nevada. Desolate, spooky and extremely cool -)2014My gorgeous wife at the gateway to Area 51, Rachel in…2014-07-18 13 12 47 Sign for the Extraterrestrial Highway along northbound Nevada State Route 375 about 38.7 miles nort…20142014-07-18 13 12 47 Sign for the Extraterrestrial Hig…2014-07-18 13 12 32 Sign for the Extraterrestrial Highway along northbound Nevada State Route 375 about 38.7 miles nort…20142014-07-18 13 12 32 Sign for the Extraterrestrial Hig…2014-07-18 13 11 09 Sign for and view of Rachel, Nevada from northbound Nevada State Route 375 about 38.5 miles north o…20142014-07-18 13 11 09 Sign for and view of Rachel, Neva…2014-07-18 13 11 09 Sign for and view of Rachel, Nevada from northbound Nevada State Route 375 about 38.5 miles north o…20142014-07-18 13 11 09 Sign for and view of Rachel, Neva…2014-07-18 13 09 32 View north along Nevada State Route 375 about 37.5 miles north of Nevada State Route 318 in20142014-07-18 13 09 32 View north along Nevada State Rou…2014-07-17 15 11 05 Sign for the Extraterrestrial Highway along southbound Nevada State Route 375 about 8.9 miles south…20142014-07-17 15 11 05 Sign for the Extraterrestrial Hig…2014-07-17 15 09 31 Sign for Rachel, Nevada along southbound Nevada State Route 375 about 8.9 miles south of the Nye Co…20142014-07-17 15 09 31 Sign for Rachel, Nevada along sou…2014-07-17 15 07 58 View south along Nevada State Route 375 about 8.5 miles south of the Nye County Line in20142014-07-17 15 07 58 View south along Nevada State Rou…2014-07-17 15 07 42 View south along Nevada State Route 375 about 8.5 miles south of the Nye County Line in20142014-07-17 15 07 42 View south along Nevada State Rou…2014-07-17 15 07 37 View north along Nevada State Route 375 about 8.5 miles south of the Nye County Line in20142014-07-17 15 07 37 View north along Nevada State Rou…Rachel Nevada Road Sign September 20132013Rachel Nevada Road Sign September 2013Rachel, Nevada at Night, 20122012Rachel, Nevada at Night, 2012Rachel, Nevada at Night, 2012 - panoramio (1)2012Rachel, Nevada at Night, 2012 - panoramio (1)Extraterrestrial highway (Route 375)2012Extraterrestrial highway (Route 375)Rachel, NV Historical Marker2010Rachel, NV Historical MarkerExtraterrestrial Highway coming into2010Extraterrestrial Highway coming intoExtraterrestrial Highway Sign in2010Extraterrestrial Highway Sign inRachel Nevada2008Rachel Nevada
On the map

Rachel on the map in 1987

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rachel.

Rachel on the 1987 USGS map1987Tempiute Mountain North 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 Rachel.

Questions about Rachel’s history

What year was Rachel founded?

In 1973, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town.

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 (24), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.