History of Las Vegas

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Southern Paiutes at Moapa wearing traditional Paiute cradleboard and rabbit robe



The prehistoric landscape of what is now the Las Vegas Valley and most of Southern Nevada was a marsh of abundant water and vegetation. Over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, rivers that were present sank into the ground, and the marsh receded. The valley evolved into a parched, arid landscape that only supported the hardiest of animals and plants. At some point in the valley's geologic history, the water that had been submerged below the terrain sporadically resurfaced and flowed into what is now the Colorado River. This helped proliferate luxurious plant life, creating a wetland oasis in the Mojave Desert landscape.


Native Americans lived in the Las Vegas Valley, beginning over 10,000 years ago. Archeologists have discovered baskets, petroglyphs, pictographs and other evidence in diverse locations, including Gypsum Cave and Tule Springs. Paiutes moved into the area as early as AD 700, migrating between nearby mountains in the summer and spending winter in the valley, near Big Springs.[5]

1829–1905: origins[edit]

A trade caravan of 60 men led by the Mexican merchant Antonio Armijo was charged with establishing a trade route to Los Angeles.[6][7] Las Vegas was named by Mexicans in the Antonio Armijo party,[8] By following the Pike and Smith routes through a tributary of Colorado River they came upon the Las Vegas Valley described by Smith as the best point to re-supply before going onto California. The travelers named the area "Las Vegas" which is Spanish for "The Meadows".[9]

John C. Frémont traveled into the Las Vegas Valley on May 3, 1844, while it was still part of Mexico. He was appointed by the President to lead a group of scientists, scouts, and spies for the United States Army Corps of Engineers who were preparing for a possible war with Mexico. Upon arriving in the valley they made camp at the Las Vegas Springs, establishing a clandestine fort there. A war with Mexico did occur, resulting in the region becoming United States territory. The fort was used in later years by travellers, mountain men, hunters, and traders seeking shelter, but was never permanently inhabited.


For the next few years the area remained unoccupied by Americans except for travelers and traders. Then the U.S. Army, in an attempt to deceive Confederate spies active in southern California in 1864, falsely publicized that it reclaimed the fort and had renamed it Fort Baker, briefly recalling the area to national attention. After the end of the war in 1865, Octavius Gass, with a commission from the federal government, did re-occupy the fort. The Paiute nation had declined in numbers and negotiated a new treaty with the United States, ceding the area around the fort to the United States in return for relocation and supplies of food and farming equipment. Consequently, Gass started irrigating the old fields and renamed the area 'Las Vegas Rancho.' Gass made wine at his ranch and Las Vegas became known as the best stop on the Old Spanish Trail. By 1872, Gass expanded his ranch to 640 acres (260 ha), and used his position as a legislator to have the territory around his ranch included in Nevada instead of Arizona.[dubious ] In 1881, because of mismanagement and intrigue with a Mormon syndicate, Gass lost his ranch to Archibald Stewart to pay off a lien Stewart had on the property. In 1884, Archibald's wife, Helen J. Stewart became the Las Vegas Postmaster.


1905–1929: birth, growth and crisis[edit]

St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church near 4th and Bridger in downtown was founded in 1910.[10]

By the early 20th century, water from wells was piped into the town, providing both a reliable source of fresh water and the means for additional growth. The increased availability of water in the area allowed Las Vegas to become a water stop, first for wagon trains and later railroads, on the trail between Los Angeles, California, and points east such as Albuquerque, New Mexico.





Hoover Dam in 1942

On July 3, 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed the appropriation bill for the Boulder Dam. The dam was later renamed the Hoover Dam during the Truman administration. Work started on the dam in 1931 and Las Vegas' population swelled from around 5,000 citizens to 25,000, with most of the newcomers looking for a job building the dam. However, the demographic of the work force consisting of males from across the country with no attachment to the area created a market for large scale entertainment. A combination of local Las Vegas business owners, Mormon financiers, and Mafia crime lords helped develop the casinos and showgirl theaters to entertain the largely male dam construction workers.[11]






1941–1945: war years[edit]



On October 30, 1942, R. E. Griffith rebuilt on the site of a nightclub called Pair-O-Dice,[14] that first opened in 1930, and renamed it Hotel Last Frontier. A few more resorts were built on and around Fremont Street but the next hotel on the Strip publicly demonstrated the influence of organized crime on Las Vegas. Although ethnic organized crime figures had been involved in some of the operations at the hotels, the Mafia bosses never owned or controlled the hotels and clubs which remained monopolized by hard-bitten local Las Vegas families who were unwilling to cede ground to the crime bosses and proved strong enough to push back. This changed in post-war Las Vegas when Jewish gangster Bugsy Siegel, with help from friend and fellow mob boss Meyer Lansky poured money through Mormon owned banks for cover of legitimacy and built The Flamingo in 1946.

1947–1963: postwar boom and organized crime[edit]


Owned and operated by a joint combine of Mormon elders who provided political and business legitimacy and people involved with organized crime who provided unreported income and street muscle, such as Meyer Lansky these crime hotels became regarded as the epitome of gambling entertainment[cite]. Even with the general knowledge that some of the owners of these casino resorts had dubious backgrounds, by 1954, over 8 million people were visiting Las Vegas yearly pumping $200 million into casinos. Gambling was no longer the only attraction; the biggest stars of films and music like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, Liberace, Bing Crosby, Carol Channing, and others performed in intimate settings. After coming to see these stars, the tourists would resume gambling, and then eat at the gourmet buffets that have become a staple of the casino industry.

However, the confluence of various marginal and/or suspected groups such as Jews, Sicilians, and Mormons into the gambling enterprises in Las Vegas and the subsequent cornering of the gambling market in the city by these groups sparked a two-year investigation by Senator Estes Kefauver and his Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce in 1950–51 [citation]. The hearing concluded that organized crime money was incontrovertibly tied to the Las Vegas casinos and was becoming the controlling interest in the city thereby earning for the groups vast amounts of income which was strengthening their influence in the country. This led to a proposal by the Senate to institute federal gambling control. Only through the power and influence of Nevada's Senator Pat McCarran did the proposal die in committee.

Along with their connections in Hollywood and New York City, these interests in Las Vegas were able to use publicity provided by these media capitals to steer the rapid growth of tourism into Las Vegas thereby dooming Galveston, Texas; Hot Springs, Arkansas; and other illegal gaming centers around the nation.[15] Nevada's legal gaming as well as the paradoxical increased scrutiny by local and federal law enforcement in these other locales during the 1950s made their demise inevitable.

1950s: atomic testing[edit]

Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site



1955–1980: the beginning of modern Las Vegas[edit]

Howard Hughes[edit]


Hank Greenspun[edit]


Local government[edit]



Much like other American settled counties and towns throughout the United States, entertainment venues were segregated between black and white owned businesses. With almost all of the businesses owned and operated by whites, Black Americans were segregated from entry into the venues which remained focused, regardless of their legitimacy or criminality, on entertaining a white only clientele. As a result of property deeds, non-white owned or customer oriented businesses were confined to clubs on the "west side" of the tracks. This also was enforced in many of the work positions thus, African Americans except those who provided the labor for low-paying menial positions or entertainment and Hispanics were limited in employment occupations at the white owned clubs. However, because of employment deals with black worker groups, many clubs favored black workers and the Hispanic population actually decreased ninety-percent from 2,275 to just 236 by the middle 1950s.

However, organized crime-owned groups saw a business opportunity in not dividing their clientele by race and despite property deeds and city and county codes disbarring such activities, made several attempts at de-segregating their businesses in the hopes putting out of operation the non-white owned clubs and expanding their own market share. An attempt at forming an all-integrated night-club modeled on the Harlem Clubs of New York City during the 1920s and 1930s like those owned by German-Jewish gangster Dutch Schultz was made. On May 24, 1955, Jewish crime boss Wil Max Schwartz, along with other investors, opened the Moulin Rouge. It was a very upscale and racially integrated casino that actually competed against the resorts on the Strip especially the non-white owned strips on the west side. However, by the end of the year, the casino closed as Schwartz and his partners had a falling out. But the seeds for racial integration were sown.

Many sources have credited Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack as a significant driving force behind desegregation in the casinos.[16] One famous story tells of Sinatra's refusal to perform at the Sands Hotel unless the hotel provided Sammy Davis Jr. with a room.[17] The famed performing group made similar demands at other venues forcing owners to amend their policies over time.[18]

However, it took political action most often supported by Jewish crime groups for racial desegregation to occur. In 1960, the NAACP threatened a protest of the city's casinos for their policies. A meeting between the NAACP, the mayor and local businessmen resulted in city wide casino desegregation first starting with the employees and many whites were attritioned from positions and their jobs given to the black unions. Along with the rest of the country, Las Vegas experienced the struggle for civil rights. Activists like James B. McMillan, Grant Sawyer, Bob Bailey, and Charles Keller dragged Las Vegas to racial integration.


Another big force for equality was another criminally connected Jewish activist Mayor Oran Gragson. Spurred into local politics by a vigilante ring of cops who repeatedly broke into his appliance store, he implemented infrastructure improvements for the minority neighborhoods in Las Vegas, backed the NAACP in its actions, and promoted black workers for jobs. He also championed the cause of the Pauite tribe that owned a small portion of Las Vegas and stopped the U.S. government from evicting the tribe and actually made infrastructure improvements for them. His work helped reverse the decrease of minority populations in Las Vegas. Local legislation kept up with the national legislation and integration was finally established. The only real violence came as a result of school integration, with violent riots and fights occurring in Clark High School when black gangs and youths began attacking the whites and sparking white flight from the school district from 1965 to 1971.

MGM fire[edit]


1970-Late 2000s: explosive growth[edit]



Since 1989: the megaresort era[edit]

The Strip resorts in late 2009


Helldorado Days was resumed in 2005 for the City of Las Vegas' centennial celebration.[13]

Late 2000s towards 2010s: downturn and recovery[edit]

Despite the success, the home mortgage crisis and the late 2000s recession affected the economic success. Soon after, new home construction was stalled, and construction projects were either canceled, postponed, or continued with financial troubles. Some of these projects included the MGM Mirage property of CityCenter, Fontainebleau, Echelon, and The Plaza. The global financial situation also had a negative effect on gaming and tourism revenue, causing many of the companies to report net loss.

Las Vegas has still managed to host many conventions and major events. Las Vegas will be hosting the Latin Grammy Awards up until 2012.

Many analysts agree that the Las Vegas economy is recovering, with improving conditions in tourism and the housing market for 2013.[22][23] Prices are rising and there has been a large increase in the million dollar home market, with many new custom homes being built. January 2013 marks the 19th consecutive month with home sales higher than the same month in the previous year.[24] In addition, Las Vegas was named America's Top Turn Around Market for 2012 by Trulia.[25]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ History of Las Vegas
  4. ^ http://www.lvol.com/lvoleg/hist/lvhist.html
  7. ^ http://lasvegas.sdsu.edu/
  9. ^ H2O University – 6 thru 12
  10. ^ Chung, Su Kim. Las Vegas Then and Now. Thunder Bay Press. San Diego, California: 2005. p. 36
  11. ^ Las Vegas Made Safe, TIME Magazine, June 1, 1931
  12. ^ "Fremont Street History". Retrieved 9 December 2008. 
    John Dombrink, William Norman Thompson (1990). http://books.google.com/books?id=F6Z1G1FqcskC. University of Nevada Press. pp. 138–139. 
  17. ^ "Sammy Davis Jr.". Nevada Humanities. 
  19. ^ City of Las Vegas History, retrieved 2012-06-20
  20. ^ Vegas Building Boom Goes Bust, retrieved 2012-06-20
  21. ^ Downturn douses Nevada's population-growth streak, retrieved 2012-06-20
  22. ^ [1]
  23. ^ [2]
  24. ^ [3]
  25. ^ [4]


  • Las Vegas website