The Verdi post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Crystal Peak (1864), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,396157 years
How historic is Verdi?
B−
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Verdi post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Verdi’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Verdi is more historic than 54% 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 Verdi’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 Verdi’s 9.9 sits above most of its state (78% of Nevada towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±19.0 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 →
It was originally known as O'Neil's Crossing, named for the man who built a bridge there in 1860.
The town of Verdi was named after Giuseppe Verdi by Charles Crocker, founder of the Central Pacific Railroad, when he pulled a slip of paper from a hat and read the name of the Italian opera composer in 1868. The name is pronounced by the local population as VUR-dye.
On November 4, 1870, five men robbed a train travelling from San Francisco to Virginia City near Verdi after blocking the track. The train was carrying approximately $60,000 of gold and silver, and the robbers were able to get away with approximately $41,000. The same train was robbed for a second time near Pequop, Nevada, in Elko County.
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.
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 Verdi. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Reno 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 Verdi.
Every building
Verdi, building by building, 1912–1930
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.
The Verdi post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Verdi rank for history?
Verdi is more historic than 54% 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 Verdi?
One place: the 1872 California-Nevada State Boundary Marker (listed 1981).
How old are the homes in Verdi?
13% of Verdi’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±19.0 points), against a typical 0.3% for a Nevada town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (14), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
c. 1868
c. 1868
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