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D−History
History · West Wendover

West Wendover was first counted by the census in 1990

Among the newest of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of West Wendover was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1990.

1990first census
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From West Wendover’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How West Wendover began

When was West Wendover founded?

1990

West Wendover first appears in the census in 1990.

First census: 2,007 in 19902020 census: 4,51236 years

How historic is West Wendover?

D−

Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives West Wendover’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Wendover is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Wendover’s overall grade.
Founding era1990, from the first census: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.6) · typical NV town 0.3% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NV town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the newest
NewerOlder
Nevada towns of 2,500+ (42)#42 of 42

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 West Wendover’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (29% of Nevada towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 →

The story

How West Wendover came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Wendover.

Read it all →

West Wendover began to develop in the 1930s and 1940s with the introduction of legalized gambling in the state of Nevada. William "Bill" Smith founded a small cobblestone service station for travelers crossing the desert terrain of western Utah and eastern Nevada. Today this facility is known as the Wendover Nugget. It held the record as the oldest continually operated gaming license for a casino in the state of Nevada for over 66 years, until December 2001, when the former State Line Casino and Hotel came under new ownership.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

West Wendover, 1955 to 1985

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1968In the archiveBRIDGE AND CULVERT TO EAST - Lincoln Highway, 3 mile segment south of Business I-80 and A…
  4. 1980In the archiveGrenze Nevada-Utah-04-1980-gje
  5. 1985Post officeThe Wendover post office opens
By decade

West Wendover, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1960s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s5 items
BRIDGE AND CULVERT TO EAST - Lincoln Highway, 3 mile segment south of Business I-80 and ALT 93 intersection1968BRIDGE AND CULVERT TO EAST - Lincoln Highway, 3 mile …CONCRETE BRIDGE TO WEST - Lincoln Highway, 3 mile segment south of Business I-80 and ALT 93 intersection1968CONCRETE BRIDGE TO WEST - Lincoln Highway, 3 mile seg…CONCRETE MARKER TO EAST - Lincoln Highway, 3 mile segment south of Business I-80 and ALT 93 intersection1968CONCRETE MARKER TO EAST - Lincoln Highway, 3 mile seg…DOUBLE CULVERT TO EAST - Lincoln Highway, 3 mile segment south of Business I-80 and ALT 93 intersection1968DOUBLE CULVERT TO EAST - Lincoln Highway, 3 mile segm…DOUBLE CULVERT TO EAST - Lincoln Highway, 3 mile segment south of Business I-80 and ALT 93 intersection1968DOUBLE CULVERT TO EAST - Lincoln Highway, 3 mile segm…
1980s1 item
Grenze Nevada-Utah-04-1980-gje1980Grenze Nevada-Utah-04-1980-gje
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
Today12 recent
Feature 17, posts from removed sign to northeast - Victory Highway, One Mile Segment West of West Wendover and South of…2006Feature 17, posts from removed sign to northeast - Vi…Feature 16, posts and debris from removed sign to southwest - Victory Highway, One Mile Segment West of West Wendover a…2006Feature 16, posts and debris from removed sign to sou…Feature 15, concrete post considered to be possible highway mile post to southwest - Victory Highway, One Mile Segment …2006Feature 15, concrete post considered to be possible h…Feature 14, wood debris from removed sign to southwest - Victory Highway, One Mile Segment West of West Wendover and So…2006Feature 14, wood debris from removed sign to southwes…Feature 12, posts, painted panel and debris from removed sign to southwest - Victory Highway, One Mile Segment West of …2006Feature 12, posts, painted panel and debris from remo…Feature 12, debris from removed sign to south - Victory Highway, One Mile Segment West of West Wendover and South of In…2006Feature 12, debris from removed sign to south - Victo…Feature 12, debris from removed metal sign to southwest - Victory Highway, One Mile Segment West of West Wendover and S…2006Feature 12, debris from removed metal sign to southwe…Feature 11, posts and debris from removed sign to northwest - Victory Highway, One Mile Segment West of West Wendover a…2006Feature 11, posts and debris from removed sign to nor…Feature 10, post from removed sign to northeast - Victory Highway, One Mile Segment West of West Wendover and South of …2006Feature 10, post from removed sign to northeast - Vic…Feature 1, washed out culvert north end to south - Victory Highway, One Mile Segment West of West Wendover and South of…2006Feature 1, washed out culvert north end to south - Vi…Detail of pavement at the east end of the study area to west - Victory Highway, One Mile Segment West of West Wendover …2006Detail of pavement at the east end of the study area …West Wendover, Nevada and Wendover, Utah2005West Wendover, Nevada and Wendover, Utah
On the map

West Wendover on the map, 1955 to 1985

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

West Wendover on the 1955 USGS mapWest Wendover on the 1962 USGS mapWest Wendover on the 1985 USGS map1955Elko sheet · 1:250,000

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

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.

BRIDGE AND CULVERT TO EAST - Lincoln Highway, 3 mile segment south of Business I-80 and ALT 93 intersection
Retake this viewBRIDGE AND CULVERT TO EAST - Lincoln Highway, 3 mile segment south of Business I-80 and ALT 93 intersection, 1968

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

West Wendover, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,00020002020Peak: 4,721

Between 2,007 and 4,721 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Eastline

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

Help out

Finish West Wendover’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBRIDGE AND CULVERT TO EAST - Lincoln Hi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about West Wendover’s history

What year was West Wendover founded?

The West Wendover post office opened in 1990, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does West Wendover rank for history?

West Wendover is among the newest 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.

How old are the homes in West Wendover?

0.0% of West Wendover’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.3% for a Nevada town; the median home was built in 1989.

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 (18), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.