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History · Rush Valley

Rush Valley dates to 1856, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Davis, David E. House and the Clover Ward LDS Meetinghouse. Its Register listings are the Davis, David E. House and the Clover Ward LDS Meetinghouse. Below: maps from 1918 on and the census since 1940.

1856founded
2on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Rush Valley began

When was Rush Valley founded?

1856

Rush Valley dates its founding to 1856 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 374 in 19402020 census: 431170 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1864.The full story ↓

What stands out about Rush Valley’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Rush Valley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Rush Valley, and 2 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19184 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1993. Watch Rush Valley change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rush Valley’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Rush Valley’s post office has been open since 1984. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Shambip
1864–1868
Saint John
1872–1984
Clover
1901–1943
Rush Valley
1984–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CloverSaint John
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Rush Valley
CloverSaint John

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

On the map

Rush Valley on the map, 1918 to 1993

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

Rush Valley on the 1918 USGS mapRush Valley on the 1955 USGS mapRush Valley on the 1980 USGS mapRush Valley on the 1993 USGS map1918Stockton 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 Rush Valley.

The story

How Rush Valley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rush Valley.

Read it all →

This area was first settled beginning in 1856. In 1934, a large area of some 33 square miles (85 km2), comprising the settlements of Clover, St. John, and Vernon, was incorporated into a town called Onaqui. The incorporation was essentially a bureaucratic tactic to secure federal aid for development of municipal infrastructure, including from the Rural Electrification Administration. When the people of Vernon were granted a petition to incorporate separately on February 22, 1972, the remaining town was renamed Rush Valley.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rush Valley, 1856 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856
    FoundingRush Valley is established
  3. 1864Post officeThe Shambip post office opens
  4. 1868Post officeThe Shambip post office closes
  5. 1872Post officeThe Saint John post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901Post officeThe Clover post office opens
  8. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1943Post officeThe Clover post office closes
  10. 1984Post officeThe Saint John post office closes
By decade

Rush Valley, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Davis House2016Davis House
On the National Register

2 historic places in Rush Valley

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Davis, David E. House
Davis, David E. HouseClover Ward LDS Meetinghouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Central Passage1
Cross Wing1
Mid-19th Century1
Davis, David E. HouseCentral Passage
All 2 listings
Clover Ward LDS MeetinghouseBuilding · listed 2025

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

People over time

Rush Valley, census by census

010020030040050060019401960198020002020Peak: 541

Between 333 and 541 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Rush Valley

Nobody well known was born in Rush Valley itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Daniel Wayne SermónAmerican musician, songwriter, and record produ… · b. 1984
F
Frank ZamboniAmerican inventor and engineer · b. 1901
Gary HerbertAmerican politician · b. 1947
Don L. LindAmerican astronaut · b. 1930
W
Wayne C. BoothAmerican academic · b. 1921
Gene FullmerAmerican boxer · b. 1931

Questions about Rush Valley’s history

What year was Rush Valley founded?

In 1856, according to Wikidata. Rush Valley’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1940 counted 374 people here.

What is on the National Register in Rush Valley?

Two places: the Davis, David E. House (listed 2007) and the Clover Ward LDS Meetinghouse (2025).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.