Native Americans inhabited Las Vegas for hundreds of years before the first westerners arrived. The new arrivals were probably a trading party led by Antonio Armijo, about 1829. Other explorers followed, and by the 1830s, the Old Spanish Trail led through the area known as Las Vegas, or "the meadows."
The first non-Native American settlement in the area was a fortified mission started by Mormon colonists sent by Brigham Young. The colonists hoped the fort would provide a link between Utah and Mormon settlements in California. Numerous difficulties led to the abandonment of the Fort in 1857. Though the settlement lasted only two years, the subsequent owner, Octavius Decatur Gass, established a working ranch that flourished throughout the rest of the nineteenth century. An adobe remnant of the original complex built by the Mormon colonists is the oldest building in Nevada and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Las Vegas was part of Lincoln County until 1909 when it became part of the newly established Clark County. Clark's Las Vegas Townsite became an incorporated city on March 16, 1911 when it adopted its first charter. Today the Las Vegas Valley is comprised of five jurisdictions: the city of Las Vegas; unincorporated Clark County; the city of North Las Vegas; the city of Henderson; and the city of Boulder City.
From the large mission-style depot on Fremont Street, the city's main business corridor, to the three-story concrete ice plant on Main Street, the railroad dominated not only the physical landscape but also guided the town's growth and development. Las Vegas' first housing tract of 64 bungalow-style cottages was constructed in 1910 to house railroad workers. While only a few are still standing, the structures (now known as the "railroad cottages") are representative of the industry that once dominated the city. The railroad continued to be the focus of the community until the mid-1920s when the main yards were moved to Caliente, Nevada, and hundreds of railroad workers were laid off.
After World War II, many new hotels and casinos were built, mostly on the "Strip." These resort properties offered unmatched entertainment and accommodations. Tourism became the lifeblood of the community. In the 1960s another transition occurred when an act of the Nevada Legislature allowed publicly traded corporations to obtain gambling licenses. Gambling developed into "gaming" and evolved into a legitimate business opportunity. Corporate investment in the hotel/casino industry kept the economy strong throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
In 2005, Las Vegas will celebrate its centennial. We are proud to look back on our history and forward to a future of even greater growth and excitement. We invite you to celebrate with us.
LAS VEGAS IN 1904
By Michael Green
On May 15, 1905, Las Vegas celebrates its centennial. That was the day of the auction that created the townsite.
What was happening in 1904?
A lot, actually. The year before, Senator William A. Clark's San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad stopped competing with Edward H. Harriman's Union Pacific. They merged and spent 1904 laying tracks through the mountains of Southern California, near where many Nevadans drive along Interstate 15. By October, the tracks had reached the Las Vegas Ranch, which spread through much of what is now downtown Las Vegas.
The local postmaster was Walter Bracken, who first came through Las Vegas in 1910, working for Clark, helping to decide the railroad's route. He also had taken possession of the ranch. Bracken was involved in surveying the proposed townsite and set it up for land to be set aside for churches, a library, and the local courthouse. He went on to serve as the agent for the Las Vegas Land and Water Company, the subsidiary that the railroad created to manage its new town.
But Bracken soon faced a competitor: John T. McWilliams. He first came to the Las Vegas area in the 1890s as a surveyor and civil engineer. The railroad hired him to survey the ranch when it was looking at purchasing the land from Helen J. Stewart. McWilliams was impressed enough to buy 80 acres from Mrs. Stewart that she hadn't sold to Clark. The land was west of the railroad, approximately the area now known as West Las Vegas.
McWilliams proceeded to start selling lots in his town site. He was doing well-but wells were the problem. The railroad controlled the Big Springs, in the vicinity of what is now I-95 and Valley View, and the creek that flowed from them. McWilliams could obtain water only by digging wells and tapping the artesian water supply. And that wasn't enough. In 1905, his townsite burned in a fire. Others would settle there, but Clark's townsite would become the Las Vegas known throughout the world.
Bracken and McWilliams weren't alone. Workers putting down the steel rails and crossties congregated in the area. Some stayed to help populate the two townsites in 1905. Others in the area worked mines in Searchlight and Goodsprings, to name two nearby areas,
But other events in 1904 also affected the railroad town yet to be born. In that year, two miners struck gold in what became, briefly, the largest mining rush in the West: Goldfield. It would create great wealth for a few men, most notably George Wingfield. He became Nevada's dominant political and economic figure for the first third of the 20th century. Also in Goldfield, young attorney Pat McCarran became involved in politics; he went on to succeed Wingfield as the state's political boss. His activities did much to create the modern Nevada of tourism and federal projects, and to sire the next generation of political leaders who have guided the state into the 21st century.
So, hold off on the big celebration until May 15, 1905. What happened in Las Vegas in 1904 mattered, but the best was yet to come.
Dr. Michael Green is a professor of Philosophical and Regional Studies at the Community College of Southern Nevada. This article is reprinted by permission from KNPR Radio and originally appeared in the KNPR Southern Nevada Almanac 2004.
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