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B−History
History · Wells

Wells’ post office opened in 1869, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the El Rancho Hotel and Casino. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1880.

1869first post office
1on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wells’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wells began

When was Wells founded?

1869

The Wells post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 243 in 18802020 census: 1,237157 years

How historic is Wells?

B−

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Wells post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wells’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wells is more historic than 50% 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 Wells’ overall grade.
Founding era1869, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194010.9% of homes (±10.8) · typical NV town 0.3% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 7.4 per 10,000 residents · typical NV town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder

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 Wells’ 7.4 sits above most of its state (74% 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 (±10.8 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 Wells’ 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 Wells’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wells’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 view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Wells came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wells.

Read it all →

The site of Wells began as a place called Humboldt Wells along the trail to California. It was subsequently founded as a railroad town along the original Transcontinental Railroad, and was once a stopover for passenger trains. The Humboldt River has its source in springs and a swampy area just west of the city that today is called Humboldt Wells. In 1877, Humboldt Wells was burning down, and in a frantic plea for help, a telegraph was sent that said, "Wells is burning". After this the town was rebuilt and simply referred to as 'Wells'.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wells, 1850 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Nevada - Elko County - ED 4-13, ED 4-14, …
  3. 1869Post officeThe Wells post office opens
  4. 1872Born hereMae Caine is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1940In the archiveSouthern Pacific track approaching Wells, Nevada
  7. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Wells, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Nevada - Elko County - ED 4-13, ED 4-14, ED 4-15, ED 4-1618501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Nevad…
1940s1 item
Southern Pacific track approaching Wells, Nevada1940Southern Pacific track approaching Wells, Nevada
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today9 recent
Front view II Angel Lake2009Front view II Angel LakeFront view I Angel Lake2009Front view I Angel LakeEl Rancho Hotel (Closed)2009El Rancho Hotel (Closed)Church at 6th Street2009Church at 6th StreetChimney Rock at Angel Lake2009Chimney Rock at Angel LakeDonna's Ranch2007Donna's RanchBella's Gentlemen's Club2007Bella's Gentlemen's Club2006-09-06 12 59 43 Cotton Region Shelter with door open (center) and Nimbus electronic temperature sensor (left)20062006-09-06 12 59 43 Cotton Region Shelter with door o…Wells, NV-750px2003Wells, NV-750px
On the map

Wells on the map, 1968 to 1982

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

Wells on the 1968 USGS mapWells on the 1982 USGS map1968Wells 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 Wells.

Every building

Wells, building by building, 1914

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 sheet.

Wells fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Nevada - Elko County - ED 4-13, ED 4-14, ED 4-15, ED 4-16
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Nevada - Elko County - ED 4-13, ED 4-14, ED 4-15, ED 4-16, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Wells

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2024
El Rancho Hotel and Casino
El Rancho Hotel and Casino
Buildings
All 1 listings
El Rancho Hotel and CasinoBuilding · listed 2024

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Wells, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,346

Between 243 and 1,346 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wells’ Wikipedia page.

Questions about Wells’ history

What year was Wells founded?

The Wells post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Wells rank for history?

Wells is more historic than 50% 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 Wells?

One place: the El Rancho Hotel and Casino (listed 2024).

How old are the homes in Wells?

11% of Wells’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.8 points), against a typical 0.3% for a Nevada town; the median home was built in 1982.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.