Most of Nevada was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2012. Below: maps from 1930 on and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Nevada post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1889.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Nevada’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nevada is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Nevada’s overall grade.
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Nevada’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas 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 range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1889 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Nevada’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settlement in the area, by John McMinn in the 1840s, was McMinn Chapel, populated mostly by his family and friends. In 1861, Granville Stinebaugh purchased a quarter-section four miles south and established the town on his farm and named it in honor of Nevada Territory, through which he had passed on his way to search California. Nevada enjoyed some prosperity after becoming a stop on the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, and the town incorporated in 1889.
The Nevada post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1889.
How does Nevada rank for history?
Nevada is more historic than 20% 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 Nevada?
3% of Nevada’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2012.
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 (3), 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.
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