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History · Smith Valley

Smith Valley’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Smith Valley. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Smith Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, Smith Valley had a population of 1,710.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,603 to 1,710 (+7%). Half of its homes were built before 2004.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Smith Valley yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Smith Valley’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Smith Valley

See all 2 →
WovokaWovokaNotableMGMarvel Ranson GuistiPolitics & Law
By decade

Smith Valley, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Smith Valley is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Smith Valley has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is I.O.O.F. Building, Mason Valley in Yerington, 17.3 miles away.

Smith Valley and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Smith Valley. Tap a dot.
I.O.O.F. Building, Mason ValleyYerington Grammar SchoolLyon County CourthouseUS Post Office-Yerington MainPG&E PowerhouseWilhelm and William Lampe Ranch

Closest to Smith Valley

I.O.O.F. Building, Mason ValleyYerington · Building17.3miYerington Grammar SchoolYerington · Building17.6miLyon County CourthouseYerington · Building17.6miUS Post Office-Yerington MainYerington · Building17.8miPG&E PowerhouseWalker · Building18.7mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. I.O.O.F. Building, Mason Valley’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Smith Valley?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Smith Valley’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Yerington📜 Carson📜 South Lake Tahoe
We left the porch light on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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