Most of Tonopah was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1950.
The Tonopah post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Butler (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,375 in 19502020 census: 2,179121 years
How historic is Tonopah?
B−
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Tonopah post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Tonopah’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tonopah is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tonopah’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 Tonopah’s 262 sits above most of its state (98% of Nevada towns have fewer) while its 50 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 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 Tonopah’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The American community began circa 1900 with the discovery of silver-rich ore by prospector Jim Butler. The legendary tale of discovery says that he went looking for a burro that had wandered off during the night and sought shelter near a rock outcropping. When Butler discovered the animal the next morning, he picked up a rock to throw at it in frustration, noticing that the rock was unusually heavy. He had stumbled upon the second-richest silver strike in Nevada history. However, this commonly-told story is likely apocryphal. Butler was married to a local Paiute woman named Belle—her family guided Butler to the area long known by indigenous peoples for its surface minerals.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Tonopah. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1960Tonopah 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 Tonopah.
Every building
Tonopah, building by building, 1905–1917
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.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Tonopah’s post office has been open since 1905. Another post office, Butler, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Butler
1901–1905
Tonopah
1905–today
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Valley View
Gone or out of use
AcenithmineBelle of TonopahmineBelmontmineBig TonomineBoston TonopahmineBuckeye Belmont MinemineButte TonopahmineCash Boy MinemineDesert QueenmineFabbi MinemineFraction ExtensionmineFraction Number 1 MinemineFraction Number 2 MinemineGold Hill ShaftmineGolden AnchormineGreat Western MinemineGypsy Queen MinemineHalifaxmine
1cemetery inside Tonopah
Old Tonopah
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Tonopah’s history
What year was Tonopah founded?
The Tonopah post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Tonopah rank for history?
Tonopah is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. 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 Tonopah?
45 listings: 45 buildings, among them the Mizpah Hotel (listed 1978, the first). 50 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Tonopah?
9% of Tonopah’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 0.3% for a Nevada town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (45), 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.
1906
1906
