D.C. Day started his Nevada Farms in Sand Springs Valley in the mid 1960s after moving from Lubbock, Texas. In 1973 he subdivided part of his farm, and this eventually created the town of Rachel in 1978. The town was named for Rachel Jones, the first child born in the community. It provided housing for the Tempiute Tungsten Mine, originally located by Wesley Koyen in 1937 and operated by Union Carbide from 1974 until 1988. After the mine closed, many residents left, but the town continued. Today it is best known for its location on Nevada's Extra-Terrestrial Highway and its proximity to the Nevada Test Site and Groom Lake.