Most of Wendover was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Its Register listing is the Wendover Air Force Base. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1920.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1910.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wendover’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wendover is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wendover’s overall grade.
Utah towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Utah town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Wendover’s 47.6 sits above most of its state (85% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1906.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Wendover’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town was established in 1908 as a station stop on the Western Pacific Railroad, then under construction. The town's name comes from either railroad surveyor Charles Wendover or from "wending over" the desert.
The transcontinental telephone line was completed as workers raised the final pole at Wendover, Utah on June 27, 1914, after construction of 3,400 miles (5,500 km) of telephone line. However, the line was not utilized until January 25, 1915, when the first transcontinental telephone call was made to coincide with the opening of the Panama Pacific Exposition.
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.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Places now gone and burying grounds
Wendover’s post office has been open since 1910.
Gone or out of use
Wendover Air Force BasemilitaryWendover Fieldmilitary
1cemetery inside Wendover
Wendover
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Wendover’s history
What year was Wendover founded?
In 1906, according to Wikidata. Wendover’s post office opened in 1910, and the census of 1920 counted 180 people here.
How does Wendover rank for history?
Wendover is more historic than 27% 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.
What is on the National Register in Wendover?
One place: the Wendover Air Force Base (listed 1975).
How old are the homes in Wendover?
2% of Wendover’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (17), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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