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Unionville, NevadaPhoto: Ken Lund from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
–Not graded
History · Unionville

Unionville’s post office opened in 1862

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1954 on.

1862first post office
0on the National Register
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Unionville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Unionville began

When was Unionville founded?

1862

The Unionville post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 27164 years
Founding year: the first Unionville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Unionville’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 Unionville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Unionville’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 viewUnionville NV 1870s 002-Colorized: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Unionville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Unionville.

Read it all →

Now in Pershing County, Unionville was the original county seat for Humboldt County, serving in that capacity from its founding in July 1861 until the seat was relocated to Winnemucca in 1873. The big mining boom at Unionville occurred between 1863 and 1870. During that time, the population was reported to be as high as 1,500 persons. Mark Twain arrived in Unionville with the intention of prospecting for silver in 1862, describing the town as consisting of "eleven cabins and a liberty-pole". As is common in most mining communities, after the boom, the town experienced a decline soon afterwards. By 1870, it was discovered that there was little rich ore in the district. The decline was speeded by the completion of the Central Pacific Railroad through the Humboldt valley, and the establishment of Winnemucca as a major trading and shipping center.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Unionville, 1862 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1862Post officeThe Unionville post office opens
  3. 1870In the archiveUnionville NV 1870s 002-Colorized
  4. 20th century
  5. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1956Post officeThe Unionville post office closes
By decade

Unionville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Unionville NV 1870s 002-Colorized1870Unionville NV 1870s 002-Colorized
Today5 recent
Old Schoolhouse2007Old SchoolhouseHomestead in2007Homestead inBeautiful2007BeautifulThe Old Unionville Schoolhouse2005The Old Unionville SchoolhouseHouse in2005House in
On the map

Unionville on the map, 1954 to 1987

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

Unionville on the 1954 USGS mapUnionville on the 1987 USGS map1954Unionville 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 Unionville.

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.

Unionville NV 1870s 002-Colorized
Retake this viewUnionville NV 1870s 002-Colorized, 1870

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Unionville

Nobody well known was born in Unionville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Charles Hinton RussellAmerican politician · b. 1903
Alan BibleAmerican politician · b. 1909
Clarence Clifton YoungAmerican politician · b. 1922
L
Louise Aloys SmithAmerican politician and community leader · b. 1917
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Unionville had its own post office from 1862 to 1956.

Unionville
1862–1956
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Buena Vista Canyon MinemineUnionville Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Unionville’s history

What year was Unionville founded?

The Unionville post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.