First off and foremost let me say that the Mormons are pretty good people although I do not agree to their religion I do believe in helping one another. I know two separate Mormons that helped me when I was homeless in CA so that is why I had to start off this prologue with this. My friends joke with me and they are usually like hey Lord Rick since you practice polymory maybe you should be Mormon:) but I am not a very religious man I try to sway my views towards science and spiritualism. But also to respect the trees, animals, and sky above. I find Mormon girls to be very pretty there all so feminine and goodhearted so honestly I enjoyed doing this investigation all for the purpose of dedicating this excursion to my Mormon friends.

This investigation is rather of a famous place they call Old Las Vegas Mormon Historic Park. Its also called Old Mormon Fort and it was the first structure built by Europeans which did turn into Las Vegas 50 years afterwards. Those first settlers were Mormon Missionaries in 1855 and they selected a site that sat on a creek which flowed from a natural spring.

The fort would serve as a midway point for those traveling to Salt Lake City UT and Los Angeles CA. The fort had adobe walls that were around 15 feet high by 150 feet long. In 1860 the US Army did spend 5 years within the fort to protect settlers but it seen little action. The fort was rather a missionary for the Mormons and pioneers passing through Las Vegas.

People locally do not realize the Fort had different names at one time it was called Fort Baker during the Civil War which was a deception by the Union Army since it had no troops stationed here. That name was derived from Edward Dickinson Baker.  Despite the fort was almost demolished a few times it was saved when it became a state park in the 1990s. But before that the Las Vegas Land and Water Company acquired the property and in 1955 the land was acquired by the Las Vegas Elks. It took around 4 million dollars to restore the property and honestly the fort still sits in ruins.

Back in the 1800s the area was farmed by having the creek water diverted amongst the crops.  This spring would flow several miles before drying out. But not only that the spring was visited by many native American tribes who hunted animals in the area or collected wild plants that grew here. This area was an oasis for travelers.  Without this spring pioneers would not be able to survive.

Many ranchers in 1895 used this water to irrigate orchards and crops. Eventually when Las Vegas was built they used this creek to supply the towns people water. That is what dried it up sad to say. The spring is still visible I walked up to it and noticed ALOT of activity surrounding it.

The adobe building that is closest to the creek is the only remaining part of the fort all the rest you see in the photos are restorations to give you some perspective. The fort also had two towers in opposite corners.  Alot of people do not know this but the building on site was used as a testing lab and office for the United States bureau of Reclamation for the construction of Hoover Dam in 1929.  The site is significant and I felt at home investigating this cause I honestly am very use to visiting historical sites and I put them up on our site to preserve them and its history.

The area at one time had the Paiute tribe which were traders but it also had many gold seekers traveling from the Old Spanish Trail To California. The Spaniards that came through here called the place Las Vegas meaning The Meadows now you understand?

The missionaries were from Utah in 1855 led by a man named William Bringhurst along with 29 others.  The fort built had a post office and later Lead was discovered so the mission tried to mine it but was of no success. This cause the Mormons to move on and abandon this site. It was very hot in the summer here and in 1865 Octavious D. Gass purchased the site and developed a large ranch which had a store and blacksmith shop. The local miners and travelers would visit this site when they needed something.

In 1881 the mortgage on the ranch was defaulted and it was passed down to Archibald and Helen Stewart. Archibald was killed in a gunfight in 1884 wild wild west baby! Helen and her father operated the ranch without Archibald. She continued to live on the ranch of course that structure would later be demolished in 1966. Helen was called the First Lady Of Las Vegas.

 Then in 1902 Helen sold the area to the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad. That is when in 1905 Las Vegas was born because now the railroad could bring in building materials and pioneers.  

© By

Lord Rick

Las Vegas, Nevada
http://members.aol.com/Gibson0817/lasvegas.htm

The earliest known people lived in the Tule Springs area from 11,000 to 13,000 years ago. These people disappeared and the area was unoccupied until about 7,000 years ago when another hunter-gatherer society came and stayed about 3, 500 years. Today's O'Malley Rockshelter, part of the Gypsum Cave complex, was one of the places they lived. The Anasazi or Basketmakers came to the Moapa Valley about 300 B.C. They lived by cultivating crops like corn and squash and seasonal hunting and gathering. About 1150 they left the area probably because of drought. Paiute, Shoshoni, and Yuma people filled the gap.

On November 7, 1829 Antonio Armijo, a New Mexico trader, led a 60 man party off the Great Spanish Trail to Los Angeles. This side trip led to the discovery of Las Vegas. They stopped to camp in northwestern Arizona near present day Littlefield. While scouting for water he found Las Vegas Springs. Raphael Rivera, the scout, was the first white man to see the future site of Las Vegas. By the mid 1830s most travellers were going the shorter route near the Springs. Las Vegas means "the meadows."

Soon after, Jedidiah Strong Smith, explored the area. In 1826, he led 18 men through the Salt Lake Valley, Southwest Utah, Southeast Nevada, to the Needles, California area, then west across California. He also explored the San Joaquin Valley and crossed the Sierra Nevada in winter, and crossed north central Nevada in 1827. Ten days after resting at the rendezvous spot at Salt Lake, he took 18 more men across approximately the same route. He left behind many journals about the Rocky Mountains and Southwest geography that later was invaluable to other explorers. John C. Fremont led several expeditions through here in 1844 to 1854. His first trip was May 3, 1844. Senator Thomas Hart Benton secured a position for Fremont in the Topographical Corps, a prestigious unit. During his first trip, he explored the South Pass area of Wyoming. During his second trip, he explored Oregon Country, California, and southern Nevada. He passed by Pahrump Valley, Sturgis Springs, Mt. Charleston, and Cottonwood Springs. His scientific reports helped open up emigrant travel.

A group of thirty Mormons were the first settlers who came on June 14, 1855. Since there were many Indians in the area, the settlement was established as a mission. The president of the fort was William Bringhurst. The Mormons didn't settle right at the springs since it would displace too many Indians, so they built it about four miles east, near present day Las Vegas Boulevard North and Washington Ave. They built an adobe fort reinforced with timber to protect themselves and the U.S. mail from Indian attacks. They grew their own food and each man was allotted 2.5 acres to do that. There were common holdings for fruit trees, grain, and alfalfa. They taught the Indians religion, farming practices, and personal hygiene.

They set up a farm as a demonstration farm for the Indians. In 1855, they began converting the Indians, but not very many. By September 15, 1855, they had built the president's home. In February 1856, the church called for replacements. This group brought their families and school teachers.

On April 19, 1856, an Indian discovered a lead outcrop on Mt. Potosi ,35 miles southwest. Not long afterwards, the mission was ended in February 1857. The last group raised a record crop that year, but Indians made off with the goods.

From 1850-1863, the Las Vegas Valley was actually part of New Mexico. In 1863, the new territory of Arizona was created, which included the Las Vegas Valley. In January 1867, it became part of Nevada. It was never part of the Nevada territory; Las Vegas only became part of Nevada after it was a state.

In January 1865, Mormons came back to the area at the Muddy and Virgin River Valleys. They established a town named St. Thomas after their leader Thomas Smith. Other settlements sprang up including St. Joseph, Simonsville, Overton, and West Point. The area was originally founded to grow cotton, which was in short supply because of the Civil War. Octavius Decatur Gass was considered a founding father of Las Vegas. He arrived at El Dorado Canyon near present day Boulder City in 1862. He filed six claims here on March 16, 1863. By December 17, 1864, he had filed a total of 29 claims. This proved unsuccessful too so he turned to ranching in the Las Vegas Valley. He grew grains such as wheat, oats, and barley, and hired local Indians to harvest them. After the first harvest he planted beets, onions, cabbage, potatoes, melons, corn, and Mexican beans. He raised crops for wine, and grew figs, apricots, apples, and peaches. He sold them to Travelers on the Mormon trail and to miners going out to El Dorado Canyon and Potosi. In 1864 he became a congressman for the Western Corner of Arizona while Las Vegas was still part of Arizona.

Conrad Kiel was another rancher. He came west in his 60s and looked up his former Ohio neighbor, Octavius Decatur Gass. At first he worked for Gass, but later built a sawmill. About 1875, he established himself at the former Mormon Indian farm. By July 1884, it was a successful ranch. He planted lots of fig trees. He died on January 3, 1894 at age 85.

Archibald Stewart had made his fortune in the gold rush days of California. He came to the Pioche area in June 1868, and opened a freight business. The business hauled Pioche ore to the Hamilton Mills. The business expanded to lumber, then in 1869, cattle. He married Helen Wiser on April 6, 1873. They had five children. They acquired the Gass Ranch in 1881. He continued to raise cattle and crops, while she managed a travelers rest that was very profitable. On July 13, 1884, he was shot and killed by former Ranch hand Schuyler Henry. Helen was the executor and ran the Ranch about 20 years, part of it as the largest land owner in the county. Eventually she sold the property to the railroad and left for Los Angeles in April 1903.

There were many stops and starts to building the railroad through the area. Actually, interests wanted a Salt Lake City to Los Angeles line. Going through Las Vegas was just incidental. In 1901, a new line was financed by William A. Clark of Montana . This line was known as the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad. That year there was a dispute between them and the Oregon Short Line and Union Pacific, owned by Edward Henry Harriman. In 1903, the two lines merged to become the Union Pacific. By 1904, trains were going as far as San Bernardino. By October 10, 1904, the tracks going south met the tracks going east from Los Angeles had come as far as the Las Vegas Ranch, which the railroad had bought from Mrs. Stewart. On January 30, 1905, the north and south lines met at Jean, 23 miles south of Las Vegas. The first train from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles came through on February 5, 1905, taking two days. On April 15, 1905, the first excursion train came in. The formal opening the route was May 1, 1905.

Now a decision had to be made on where to build the town. Earlier, a portion of Mrs. Stewart's ranch bought by John T. Williams, a civil engineer, had been rented to early arrivals. This area today is bounded by A Street, H Street, Washington Street, and Bonanza Streets. There were 1,500 people in that area. But the railroad chose its own area for the new town bounded by Stewart, Graces, Fifth, and Main. Lots in this area were auctioned off. 176 lots were bought for $79,566 on the first day. Many of the buyers were wealthy Los Angeles speculators who bought lots as investments and never returned to the area. Consequently, the town didn't develop as the planners had supposed. By 1920, there were still only about 2,300 people here.

There were many disasters on the railroad at first. Right away a storm wiped out a bridge 30 miles north of Las Vegas, causing a train wreck. In July and August, a series of minor floods damaged the tracks. In March 1906, floods washed away large sections of track in Meadow Valley. In February 1907, another flood in Meadow Valley destroyed rails and bridges. Rails washed out in California too, so Las Vegas was isolated from service until a detour on other tracks was arranged on April 12, 1907. Senator Clark, president of the railroad, raised the level of the tracks and built eight new steel bridges to stop the troubles. This worked for two years until the big flood of 1910. All the previous construction work was destroyed. 100 miles of track and many railroad cars were destroyed. The railroad rebuilt the line for $658,000. A new "high line" was built and opened April 1912. Only one flood in 1938 ever closed the road again, that time for three weeks.

In 1909, a new and more extensive railroad shops and yards were built in Las Vegas. Railroad employment was 400. In 1905, Clark started the Las Vegas & Tonopah line to serve the gold fields there. After World War I, this line was abandoned and became an auto road between Las Vegas and Tonopah. In 1905, the Las Vegas Land and Water Company, partner of the railroad, oiled and graveled the streets and put in underground water mains.

Block 16 was one of two blocks that could lawfully serve liquor without restriction. It quickly grew to sell women as well. Gambling was also popular. Saloon-bordello type establishments with "cribs" in the back were common. The Arizona Club was the poshest. The seedy reputation of Block 16 came to an end after World War II when city government canceled beer licenses and slot machine permits. Without those the businesses could not make money. The area degenerated into sleazy rooming houses. Finally, in 1946, most structures were demolished. Most lots are now parking lots.

In 1917, the railroad closed and civilian construction projects slowed, restricting the growth of the town. Travel to Reno was then cut off with the end of the railroad. Western Express (now Western Airlines) made the first commercial flight on April 17, 1926. On May 23, 1926, the first passenger air service came through Las Vegas on the Los Angeles to Salt Lake City run. Western Airlines also carried the mail.

Gambling had been legal in most western states from 1869-1910. From 1910-1915 there was a shift in games declared legal. From 1915-1913, most games were illegal but Nevada ignored the law. A reduction in income from mining made gaming necessary for the economy. So in 1931, wide-open legal gambling and easy divorce laws were legislated during the depression. Easy marriages had always been available up to that time.

On December 21, 1928, the Swing-Johnson Bill passed, authorizing construction of a dam on the Colorado. Black Canyon was chosen as the building spot ecamse of its better rock formations and because it would require a shorter special rail line for supplying the builders. The dam was popularly known as Boulder Dam, though it was officially named Hoover Dam. The contract for $48,890,995 was awarded to a consortium formed specifically for building the dam. The consortium was called Six Companies, Inc, comprised of Utah Construction Company, Pacific Bridge Company, Henry J. Kaiser and W.A. Bechtel Company, MacDonald & Kahn Company Ltd., Morrison-Knudsen Company, and J. F. Shea Company.

The federal government decided not to house its workers at "Sin City" (Las Vegas) so set up a new town nearby for the purpose. On January 4, 1931, the Bureau of Reclamation's Elwood Mead designated land for Boulder City. The town was designed for a maximum size of 5,000. Surplus houses from the 1932 Olympic games were trucked from Los Angeles to Boulder City. Electric power to the dam site was purchased from San Bernardino 222 miles away.

The building of Hoover Dam started in 1931 and finished 1936. The dam eventually used 3,220,000 cubic yards of concrete, more than the previous 50 dams built by the Bureau of Reclamation had built combined. On September 30, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the dam as Boulder Dam. In 1947, the name was changed back to Hoover Dam by Congress. Over 5,000 worked at the dam at its peak. 117 men died during its construction. The first electricity went on line on October 26, 1936. California gets 46% of its juice, while Nevada and Arizona split the rest.

All kinds of money was pumped into the economy of Las Vegas while dam building was going on. Some 200,000 tourists spent money while they came to witness the dam project. But most of it was worker's pay checks spent at Las Vegas speakeasies, Block 16, and legal gambling. At first, gambling licenses were granted for slots only. Many cafes and hotels had then. The City of Las Vegas granted licenses only within a geographical area, which at the time was on Fremont east of Main. Gambling is still only done within a certain geographical area.

Typical 1930s gambling houses were small downtown clubs with harsh neon signs that catered to working men rather than high rollers. In the late 1930s, experienced gambling operators, mostly from southern California, came to Las Vegas. Guy McAfee the boss of Los Angeles gambling, built a club in downtown Las Vegas. The capital brought new prosperity. Las Vegas was also actively trying to capitalize on its proximity to Los Angeles and Hollywood by providing quick and easy marriages and divorces. By 1940, there were 13,327 marriages in Las Vegas. By 1941, there were over 1,000 divorces.

More money came from the U.S. government during World War II. This was when they government built the Las Vegas Army Air Field, later Nellis Air Force Base, for a bomber gunnery school. It was built from 1941-42 and used soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor . 4,000 students graduated every six weeks. It was renamed Nellis Air force Base, after first lieutenant William Harrel Nellis, who was killed in action over Germany on December 27, 1944.

Another new source of income was the discovery of brucite and magnesium in Nye County. Howard P. Eells formed Basic Magnesium Inc. to produce the metal, which was needed for airplanes. More than 70,000,000 tons had been found, the largest deposit in the world at that time. One plant was built near the ore at Gabbs. The other was midway between Las Vegas and Boulder City. It was the largest producer of metallic magnesium in the United States. Many black workers came in at this time. The company built homes for them at a new town site, eventually called Henderson (named on January 1, 1944 after Charles Belknap Henderson, a U.S. Senator from Nevada from 1918-21). On March 30, 1942, water from Lake Mead flowed into the company reservoir. Its first production was in October 1942. It ran for 807 consecutive days of operation until November 15, 1944. By then it had produced 166,322,685 pounds of ingots. On October 27, 1942, Anaconda Copper Mining Company took over Basic Magnesium Inc.

The first large casino was El Rancho Vegas built on the Los Angeles highway (The Strip). It opened in April 1941 with a Spanish motif near the present day Sahara. In December 1942, The Last Frontier Hotel, owned by Texas movie theater magnate R.E. Griffith, opened ½ mile south of the El Rancho. This construction, the air force base, and the magnesium plant created a demand for housing. By the end of the war, 1,166 new units had been built.

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, an eastern gangster, came to Las Vegas in the early 1940s. He wanted respectability, so he entered legal gambling by buying part ownership of the El Cortez casino. He was attracted to the potential of the Strip so he bought land there. He built an elaborate casino ignoring all building restrictions. Soon he ran out of money and no one local would extend a loan to him. So he got some eastern investors to finance the Nevada Projects Corporation. The hotel was the Flamingo. He disdained the notion of western decor prevalent in the other gambling houses and restraints of the time. His employees wore formal dress and the patrons were expected to dress formal also. He wanted to attract wealthy southern California and Florida players, not locals. The grand opening for his casino was December 26, 1946. He used big name talent to turn a profit. He rose the salaries of the paid celebrities. Six months later, he was shot to death in Beverly Hills. But his influence remained. New casinos didn't use western decor either and big stars paid large salaries became the norm. The Flamingo still operates today.

Something was needed to keep the city growing after the war boom years. The city hired J. Walter Thompson, a nationally recognized advertising expert. Instead of roadside billboards, he advertised in New York City dailies and general interest magazines throughout the United States. Other agents were used too. The Steve Hannager Agency used "cheesecake" photos to advertise. All this advertising did its job. Even the atomic testing that began in Nevada, was used as tourist attraction, inviting visitors to come see a bomb detonate. By 1952, gaming surpassed mining and farming as the number one industry. From 1950 to 1954, property value had gone from $58 million to $131 million. It was the fourth largest growing city in the U.S.

After the war, the army had been considering closing the base. But the city fathers wanted it to remain open because of its economic benefits, plus the base gave the city an air of respectability. Major E.W. Cragin, Maxwell Kelch, and R.B. Griffith talked to Nevada Senator Patrick A. McCarran who told them, the lack of moderately priced houses for career military families and sharing the field with a civilian airline were what the army was concerned about. On May 1, 1947, the city floated a bond for $750,000 to build a separate civilian airport. Then on July 26, 1947, when the Air Force was made a separate armed forces division. Air Force brass were more receptive to the idea of staying in Las Vegas than the army men had been. The air base stayed. A single engine training school was added. 100 planes stationed there. A gunnery school was added. On May 20, 1950, the name was changed to Nellis Air Force Base. In June 1956, it became the home base of the Thunderbirds air-demo team.

In late 1944, the magnesium plant was shut down. People needing jobs left Henderson. But both Las Vegas and the state wanted to save the town. The plant was leased to several tenants by a private corporation and people began to move back. The price paid to the government was $1 down with the rest of the $24 million to be paid from profits of the renters. The town was saved and was officially incorporated on June 10, 1953 with about 6,300 people.

People welcomed the test site at Yucca Flats and Frenchman Flats for the income it would bring. On December 1950, the Nevada Test Site was announced. Building began on January 1, 1951. The first test was a ten kiloton bomb dropped from a plane on January 27, 1951. It was first called the Nevada Proving Ground, then later the Nevada Test Site. The site was expanded in the 1960s to 1,350 square miles. After 1962, all tests were conducted underground. By the end of February, 1986, 646 announced tests were conducted. Miss Atomic Blast was named during some of the hoopla and parties that surrounded the early tests.

In 1951, the first college courses were offered as an extension of the University of Nevada at Reno. In 1957 it was renamed Southern Regional Division. In 1965, the name was changed to Nevada Southern University, then finally to University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 1968.

In 1953, a convention bureau was formed to attract visitors during the week and at slow times during the year. Almost immediately business leaders realized a convention facility was needed. The new Spokane Coliseum was chosen as the model. The facility was paid for by hotel/motel taxes. It was dedicated on April 18, 1959. It had 7,500 seats with 27 multi-purpose rooms and an exhibit hall with 90,000 ft2.

By 1953, eight commercial wedding chapels stood downtown and on The Strip. Hollywood stars going to Las Vegas for weddings and/or divorces helped popularize the town, such as Rita Hayworth and Joan Crawford. In 1957, the Dunes brought Minsky's Follies, a famous New York burlesque producer--his show featured topless chorus girls. Caesar's Palace opened 1967, by the big names were going for $100,000 per week. The MGM Grand opened in 1973 and raised the ante to $150,000-$200,000.

Up until the 1970s, women had been discouraged from working as dealers. In the 1950s the Santa Anita and the Monte Carlo hired a few women, but no one followed their lead. In 1966, only one of three Las Vegas dealer's schools would even accept female students. There was even a resolution passed on November 5, 1958, by city commissioners, that recommended women not be employed. They felt it would corrupt public morals. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 changed the attitude. Women and Hispanics began to be hired regularly. It took longer for blacks. They would be invited as entertainers but not allowed to stay in the hotels or use hotel facilities where they performed. They were not hired in casino jobs either, except as menial laborers. Some progress had been made by the early 80s.

The games have changed over the years. Monte, faro, and chuck-a-luck have mostly disappeared. 21, craps, and roulette are still very popular. Baccarat came on in the 60s but by the early 80s was popular only in the larger casinos. Slots have changed the most, but are still very popular. There are $1, 25¢, 5¢, and 1¢ machines.

Air conditioning also led to the growth of Las Vegas. The first public building in the county to be air conditioned was at Boulder City. One of the first Las Vegas buildings to get air conditioning was the White Spot Cafe. By the 50s, no one would dream of building without air conditioning. The Apache Hotel probably was the first hotel with air.

EG&G Las Vegas opened in 1953. The company was named for Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier. EG&G was the prime contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy-Nevada. EG&G provides technical and field support to the U.S. Department of Defense. The company's founders worked with MIT during World War II, during the Manhattan Project. The three men did research on the first atomic bomb. In 1947, they formed EG&G to serve as a private contractor to the U.S. government. They continue to support nuclear weapons testing, non-weapons research and development, and low-level waste management. At Las Vegas contains the world's largest and most complete collection of radiation exposure records for nuclear testing.

The Four Queens Hotel & Casino grand opening was June 2, 1966. It was dedicated to owner Ben Goffstein's four daughters. The hotel was bought by Hyatt in 1973. Harrah's began in 1937 with a bingo parlor n Reno by William Harrah. Its first full-fledged casino opened in 1946 on Virginia Street (the Strip) in Reno. In 1973, it was the first "purely gaming company" to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1980, it was bought out by the Holiday Corporation. The hotel chain came to Las Vegas in 1972 on the Strip.

Clark county Community College was dedicated on October 11, 1971. Its first year it had 1,784 students. It was already too many for the present facilities. On January 1975, the campus moved to the Cheyenne Campus, an 80-acre lot donated by the city of North Las Vegas. In August 1981, an 80-acre campus extension opened in Henderson. By 1986, 80 acres had been reserved on West Charleston for future expansion. By 1986, 11,000 students were enrolled in the two main campuses and the many satellites at various high schools, churches, etc. Special programs catered to military personnel at Nellis Air Force Base and for inmates at state prisons at Jean and Indian Springs. They also broadcast classes for remote areas and people on irregular shifts.

The Imperial Palace opened on November 1, 1979. It was the only major Las Vegas hotel with a single owner Ralph Engelstad. He built the site of the old Flamingo Capri Hotel with a oriental theme. The auto collection came here in December 1, 1981. It was the 7th largest hotel in the world in 1986.