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B−History
History · Winnemucca

Winnemucca’s post office opened in 1866, and 7 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns · #3 of 42 in Nevada. What drives it

Most of Winnemucca was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1870.

1866first post office
7on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Winnemucca’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Winnemucca began

When was Winnemucca founded?

1866

The Winnemucca post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 290 in 18702020 census: 8,431160 years

How historic is Winnemucca?

B−

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Winnemucca’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Winnemucca is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #3 of 42 in Nevada. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Winnemucca’s overall grade.
Founding era1866, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.0% of homes (±5.9) · typical NV town 0.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register7 listings, 8.4 per 10,000 residents · typical NV town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 53%
NewerOlder
Nevada towns of 2,500+ (42)Ahead of 95%

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 Winnemucca’s 8.4 sits above most of its state (75% of Nevada towns have fewer) while its 7 listings outnumber those of 73% 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 (±5.9 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 Winnemucca’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.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1912, drew every building in Winnemucca.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Winnemucca’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGateway to the scenic west, Hotel Humbo…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Winnemucca, building by building, 1885–1912

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.

Winnemucca fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

On the National Register

7 historic places in Winnemucca

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
W. C. Record House
W. C. Record HouseHumboldt County CourthouseUS Post Office-Winnemucca Main, built 1921Winnemucca Grammar SchoolHumboldt River BridgeMartin Hotel, built 1913Winnemucca Hotel, built 1863
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular Commercial2
Vernacular1
Gothic Revival1
Italianate1
Neo-Classical Revival1
Prairie School1
W. C. Record HouseVernacular
Humboldt County CourthouseItalianate
US Post Office-Winnemucca MainNeo-Classical Revival · Built 1921
Winnemucca Grammar SchoolPrairie School
Humboldt River BridgeConcrete Arch-Deck Bridge
Martin HotelVernacular Commercial · Built 1913
Winnemucca HotelVernacular Commercial · Built 1863

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

The story so far

Winnemucca, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Winnemucca yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Winnemucca ( ) is the only incorporated city in Humboldt County, Nevada, United States, of which it is also the county seat, encompassing approximately half of the total population of the county. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 8,431, up 14% from the 2010 census figure of 7,396. Interstate 80 passes through the city, where it meets U.S. Route 95.

Its first post office opened in 1866. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 7,396 to 8,431 (+14%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Winnemucca, 1863 to 1993

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1863BuiltWinnemucca Hotel is built
  3. 1866Post officeThe Winnemucca post office opens
  4. 1874Born hereHenry F. Ashurst is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1913BuiltMartin Hotel is built
  7. 1915Born hereVernon Alley is born here
  8. 1921BuiltUS Post Office-Winnemucca Main is built
  9. 1930In the archiveGateway to the scenic west, Hotel Humboldt, Winnemucca, Nevada (81055)
  10. 1940In the archiveMain street. Winnemucca, Nevada
  11. 1942Born hereBill Berry is born here
  12. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1993Born hereMario Bautista is born here
By decade

Winnemucca, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1940s2 items
Gateway to the scenic west, Hotel Humboldt, Winnemucca, Nevada (81055)c. 1930Gateway to the scenic west, Hotel Humboldt, Winnemucc…Main street. Winnemucca, Nevada1940Main street. Winnemucca, 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
Today14 recent
Winnemucca South Bridge Street2009Winnemucca South Bridge StreetWinnemucca Convention Center2009Winnemucca Convention CenterStreet view to2009Street view toSUN Dance Bar ^ Slots2009SUN Dance Bar ^ SlotsMountain viewed from downtown2009Mountain viewed from downtownMillrs Antique Shop at2009Millrs Antique Shop atGateway to Pacific Northwest2009Gateway to Pacific NorthwestFornt of Antique Shop2009Fornt of Antique Shop2008-07-12 Downtown20082008-07-12 DowntownWinnemucca Grammar School2007Winnemucca Grammar SchoolWinnemucca Basque Festival2007Winnemucca Basque FestivalHumboldt River (5)2007Humboldt River (5)Winnemucca, NV-750px2003Winnemucca, NV-750pxWinnemucca NV winter 20092000Winnemucca NV winter 2009
On the map

Winnemucca on the map, 1958 to 1983

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

Winnemucca on the 1958 USGS mapWinnemucca on the 1983 USGS map1958Winnemucca 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 Winnemucca.

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.

Gateway to the scenic west, Hotel Humboldt, Winnemucca, Nevada (81055)
Retake this viewGateway to the scenic west, Hotel Humboldt, Winnemucca, Nevada (81055), c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Winnemucca, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000188019001920194019601980200020208,431

Grew from 290 people in 1870 to 8,431 in 2020, more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Winnemucca

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Henry F. AshurstU.S. Senator from Arizona · b. 1874
M
Mario BautistaAmerican mixed martial arts fighter · b. 1993
B
Bill BerryAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1942
Vernon AlleyAmerican jazz bassist · b. 1915
Lute PeaseAmerican cartoonist · b. 1869
F
Frances HawkinsAmerican politician and educator · b. 1921
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Winnemucca’s post office has been open since 1866.

Gone or out of use
CentervillelocaleWinnemucca Rodeo Groundslocale
1cemetery inside Winnemucca
Winnemucca

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

Questions about Winnemucca’s history

What year was Winnemucca founded?

The Winnemucca post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Winnemucca rank for history?

Winnemucca is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #3 of 42 in Nevada. 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 Winnemucca?

7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the W. C. Record House (listed 1980, the first), and 1 structure.

How old are the homes in Winnemucca?

9% of Winnemucca’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 0.3% for a Nevada town; the median home was built in 1987.

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 (15), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.