Las Vegas, Nevada

The city of Las Vegas, situated almost halfway between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, was founded on May 5, 1905. The history of the surrounding area, however, dates back to the early 1830s and correlates [Page 381]with the histories of the Old Spanish Trail, the Mormons, and various other mining and railroad communities. As early as 1831, there existed a trade between Los Angeles and Santa Fe dealing with wool blankets and other textiles. The Old Spanish Trail was the quickest means of transporting goods between the two cities, and the Las Vegas area served as a resting stop for convoys. It was the only forgiving region that contained water between the Mojave and Muddy River valleys. The first explorers to travel this path did so in the 1820s and are believed to have been Jedediah Strong Smith and Antonio Armijo. Although it is not known who traveled the area first, it is known that the trail followed Muddy River south to the Virgin River, then west toward the Las Vegas Springs. After this was established as a viable route, traders and explorers made annual journeys to trade and exchange goods, always making sure to stop and rest and water their livestock before making the next leg of the journey. The route was named Las Vegas, or “the meadows,” due to its fertile grounds. Because of the Mexican War, however, the trail closed in 1848.

Before the war, American military officer John C. Frémont explored the region in May 1844 and was amazed at the natural springs and the lush vegetation that grew on the banks of the Las Vegas Wash. It was recorded as an important and essential stop for all travelers headed west and held its importance throughout the following decades.

By April 1854, Congress recognized the Las Vegas area and established a postal route that ran from Salt Lake City to San Diego in southern California. Las Vegas was little more than a watering hole for postal officers and travelers, however, until the exploration of the Las Vegas Springs by the Mormons in 1855. During this year, Brigham Young sent a detachment of thirty men from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas to build a fort to protect immigrants and the U.S. mail. It is also likely that Young had ulterior motives in his charity, wishing to convert the locals of the Las Vegas Springs and show them how to raise corn, wheat, squash, and melon. In addition, the Mormons wanted a mission to connect Salt Lake City with San Bernardino and the Pacific Ocean. William Bringhurst, who later became the leading member of the community set up at Las Vegas, led this group.

By April 1856, the Mormon group of men established a small fort and modest agricultural ventures. On April 19 of the same year, lead ore was found in the Potosi Mountain area twenty-seven miles southwest of Las Vegas. The travel back and forth between the fort and Potosi Mountain brought the Mormons into greater contact with the local Paiute Indians, atribe that retained cordial relations with the Mormons despite the perpetual theft of horses and agricultural goods by these Natives. Due to dissension among the leaders of the Mormon fort, a lack of supplies and food, unsuccessful missionary work, and bad farming because of weather, the mission was forced to close in February 1857.

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