Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Tuscarora

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Tuscarora

Tuscarora dates to 1867

Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1956 on.

1867founded
0on the National Register
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Tuscarora’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Tuscarora began

When was Tuscarora founded?

1867

Tuscarora dates its founding to 1867 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1871.

159 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓

What stands out about Tuscarora’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tuscarora’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tuscarora’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSpanish Ranch, Main Bunkhouse, Off of S…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Tuscarora came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tuscarora.

Read it all →

Tuscarora was founded in Elko County, after an expedition by trader William Heath to find gold, in 1867. The community derives its name from the Tuscarora people. As miners flocked to the town, a fort was built to offer protection from Indian raids and a water ditch was created to supply the town with water. Many Chinese men who had been employed by the Central Pacific Railroad (CPR) relocated to the town and began placer mining. By 1870, Tuscarora had a population of 119, of whom 104 were Chinese. A post office was established at Tuscarora in 1871. A boom began following the discovery of silver ore. In 1879, the population of Tuscarora reached 1,500, making it one of the larger settlements in Nevada.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tuscarora, 1867 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867
    FoundingTuscarora is established
  3. 1871Post officeThe Tuscarora post office opens
  4. 1886Born hereWheezer Dell is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Tuscarora, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
Tuscarora Mining District, Elco County, Nevada. (to accompany) Pocket Mining Atlas. Compiled From The Latest Official S…Date?Tuscarora Mining District, Elco County, Nevada. (to a…MapSpanish Ranch, Main Bunkhouse, Off of State Rt. 226Date?Spanish Ranch, Main Bunkhouse, Off of State Rt. 226
Today9 recent
2014-09-01 13 53 11 Historic marker for Tuscarora, Nevada along Nevada State Route 226 (Deep Creek Highway)20142014-09-01 13 53 11 Historic marker for Tuscarora, Ne…2014-09-01 13 53 05 Historic marker for Tuscarora, Nevada along Nevada State Route 226 (Deep Creek Highway)20142014-09-01 13 53 05 Historic marker for Tuscarora, Ne…2014-02-27 12 41 47 View west along Tuscarora Road (Elko County Route 723) in20142014-02-27 12 41 47 View west along Tuscarora Road (E…2014-02-27 12 41 04 Tuscarora Cemetery20142014-02-27 12 41 04 Tuscarora Cemetery2014-02-27 12 40 57 Tuscarora Cemetary20142014-02-27 12 40 57 Tuscarora Cemetary2014-02-27 12 39 34 View west along Tuscarora Road (Elko County Route 723) in20142014-02-27 12 39 34 View west along Tuscarora Road (E…2012-09-28 14 40 21 View of20122012-09-28 14 40 21 View ofEast elevation; plan - Spanish Ranch, Main Bunkhouse, Off of State Rt. 2262007East elevation; plan - Spanish Ranch, Main Bunkhouse,…East elevation; plan - Spanish Ranch, Main Bunkhouse, Off of State Rt. 2262007East elevation; plan - Spanish Ranch, Main Bunkhouse,…
On the map

Tuscarora on the map, 1956 to 1987

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

Tuscarora on the 1956 USGS mapTuscarora on the 1987 USGS map1956Tuscarora sheet · 1:62,500

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

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.

Spanish Ranch, Main Bunkhouse, Off of State Rt. 226
Retake this viewSpanish Ranch, Main Bunkhouse, Off of State Rt. 226

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Tuscarora’s history

What year was Tuscarora founded?

In 1867, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Tuscarora’s post office opened in 1871.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.