Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Yerington

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
B−History
History · Yerington

Yerington dates to 1871, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #8 of 42 in Nevada. What drives it

Most of Yerington was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1910.

1871founded
4on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Yerington began

When was Yerington founded?

1871

Yerington dates its founding to 1871 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 682 in 19102020 census: 3,121155 years

How historic is Yerington?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Yerington’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Yerington is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #8 of 42 in Nevada. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Yerington’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.4% of homes (±4.5) · typical NV town 0.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register4 listings, 12.7 per 10,000 residents · typical NV town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 49%
NewerOlder
Nevada towns of 2,500+ (42)Ahead of 83%

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 Yerington’s 12.7 sits above most of its state (82% of Nevada towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±4.5 points). Two sources give 1871.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Yerington’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.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Yerington’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Yerington’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 viewPhotographs, with captions, of hay stac…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

4 historic places in Yerington

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Lyon County Courthouse
Lyon County CourthouseI.O.O.F. Building, Mason ValleyYerington Grammar SchoolUS Post Office-Yerington Main
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Beaux Arts1
Italianate1
Renaissance Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Lyon County CourthouseBeaux Arts
I.O.O.F. Building, Mason ValleyBuilding
Yerington Grammar SchoolItalianate
US Post Office-Yerington MainColonial Revival

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

The story

How Yerington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Yerington.

Read it all →

The Yerington Paiute Tribe of the Yerington Colony and Campbell Ranch is headquartered in Yerington. The people, known as Numu (human beings) in their own language, have lived in the Smith and Mason Valleys in Northwestern Nevada, since around 1000 A.D.

The community was formerly named Greenfield, Mason Valley, and Pizen Switch (irreverent nickname from the time when Yerington was a transfer - or switch - stop, and the local whiskey was so bad that it was called "poison". "Poison" came out sounding like "pizen" because of local vernacular, and the name "Pizen Switch" stuck.)

It was founded on August 6, 1871. The city was incorporated on March 17, 1907.

ChaptersNative peopleCityWilson Ranch fire balloon

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Yerington, 1871 to 1976

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871
    FoundingYerington is established
  3. 1871Post officeThe Mason Valley post office opens
  4. 1894Post officeThe Mason Valley post office closes
  5. 1894Post officeThe Yerington post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1929Born hereJoe Dini is born here
  8. 1937In the archivePhotographs, with captions, of hay stacking at Campbell Ranch, Yerington, Nevada, from 19…
  9. 1952Born hereNevada Barr is born here
  10. 1956Born hereBill Young is born here
  11. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1976Born hereJesse Brinkley is born here
By decade

Yerington, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Photographs, with captions, of hay stacking at Campbell Ranch, Yerington, Nevada, from 1937 Carson Agency Annual... - N…1937Photographs, with captions, of hay stacking at Campbe…
1940s–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
Today17 recent
2015-10-30 12 08 51 View north along Main Street (Nevada State Route 208) near Van Ness Street in downtown20152015-10-30 12 08 51 View north along Main Street (Nev…2015-10-30 12 08 44 View north along Main Street (Nevada State Route 208) near Grove Street in downtown20152015-10-30 12 08 44 View north along Main Street (Nev…2015-10-30 11 45 20 View west from the east end of Nevada State Route 340 (Bridge Street) in20152015-10-30 11 45 20 View west from the east end of Ne…2015-10-30 11 42 47 View south from the northeast end of Nevada State Route 208 (North Main Street) in20152015-10-30 11 42 47 View south from the northeast end…Wilson Canyon, Walker River Between Wellington and2014Wilson Canyon, Walker River Between Wellington andWilson Canyon, Walker River Between Wellington and2014Wilson Canyon, Walker River Between Wellington andGeese Flying in2013Geese Flying inWabuska Siding, 20122012Wabuska Siding, 2012Wabuska Historical Marker, 20122012Wabuska Historical Marker, 2012The Wabuska Sentinel, November, 20122012The Wabuska Sentinel, November, 2012North Mason Valley, View W, November 20122012North Mason Valley, View W, November 2012North Mason Valley, NV, View N, November 20122012North Mason Valley, NV, View N, November 2012North Mason Valley Nevada, View E, November 20122012North Mason Valley Nevada, View E, November 2012Linda's Wabuska Bar, 20122012Linda's Wabuska Bar, 2012Dinis lucky club2009Dinis lucky clubWatering alfalfa field2008Watering alfalfa fieldYerington, Nevada2006Yerington, Nevada
On the map

Yerington on the map, 1957 to 1986

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

Yerington on the 1957 USGS mapYerington on the 1986 USGS map1957Yerington 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 Yerington.

Every building

Yerington, building by building, 1909

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.

Yerington fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 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.

Photographs, with captions, of hay stacking at Campbell Ranch, Yerington, Nevada, from 1937 Carson Agency Annual... - N…
Retake this viewPhotographs, with captions, of hay stacking at Campbell Ranch, Yerington, Nevada, from 1937 Carson Agency Annual... - N…, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Yerington, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0001920194019601980200020203,121

Grew from 682 people in 1910 to 3,121 in 2020, 4 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Yerington

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

See all →
Nevada BarrAmerican novelist · b. 1952
Joe DiniAmerican politician · b. 1929
Jesse BrinkleyAmerican boxer · b. 1976
B
Bill YoungSheriff of Clark County · b. 1956
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Yerington’s post office has been open since 1894. Another post office, Mason Valley, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mason Valley
1871–1894
Yerington
1894–today
18701950today

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

Questions about Yerington’s history

What year was Yerington founded?

In 1871, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Yerington’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1910 counted 682 people here.

How does Yerington rank for history?

Yerington is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #8 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 Yerington?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Lyon County Courthouse (listed 1983, the first).

How old are the homes in Yerington?

6% of Yerington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 0.3% for a Nevada town; the median home was built in 1976.

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), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.