Understanding the history of an object, in this case a city, can provide interesting facts of how that object has evolved into its current state.

1. How Vegas Took Shape
Understanding the history of an object, in this case a
city, can provide interesting facts of how that object
has evolved into its current state. The glittering
neon lights and flashy spectacle’s that make up the
current core of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, hold
within them an intriguing history of growth and
resources that all accumulated into what is
witnessed today as one walks the strip of America’s
Playground.
In the year 1829, a youthful Spanish scout named Rafael Rivera who had wondered from his group
entered a fertile valley in the midst of the American southwestern dessert and dubbed it Las Vegas, or
“The Meadows.” A literal oasis in the dessert, Las Vegas received its name from the young Spaniard
because of the bubbling springs broke through the dry dessert crust to create lush green plant life that
must of appeared as if it was a misplaced forest meadow.
The First Settlers
But the story of Las Vegas begins thousands of years ago when ancient humans first entered the Las
Vegas valley as they followed big game animals that were migrating south. These peoples were nomadic
and did not inhabit the valley though their eventual descendants, the Anasazi, would.
The Anasazi were an advanced pre-Columbian native
culture whose housing structures that were carved out of
dessert cliffs have become the site of fevered academic
studies and a tourist hot spot. The Anasazi and other
prominent Native American tribes used the springs found
in the Las Vegas valley as their regular source for water.
After Rafael came other Europeans who passed through
the fertile valley of Las Vegas on their way to the gold
mines of California and the opportunities of the emerging
Los Angeles. John Fremont’s writings of the majestic dessert springs drew many to settle the valley and
Mormon pioneers constructed a fort in 1855 as a halfway point between supplies in Los Angeles and
their homes in Salt Lake City.
As Las Vegas grew through the mid nineteenth century, the presence of the spring produced oasis and
its location between populated areas continued to be a driving factor in the small community’s success.

2. Upon receiving statehood in 1864 the Las Vegas Valley continued to grow and saw a major population
boom with the introduction the railroad.
Hoover Dam
While the springs made Vegas a perfect stop on the railway, it was the construction of a dam that
turned Las Vegas into Sin City. The Hoover Dam, constructed between 1931 and 1935 brought
thousands of workers to the region with money in their pockets and days off to burn.
Gambling was already legalized in the area at this point and the workers starved for entertainment
solidified Vega’s role as a city based in the gaming industry. The Las Vegas of today sports a bustling and
growing population of not only tourists but
permeate residences as well.
Vegas, while still steamy on the strip, has been
slowly transforming into viable business city
with homeowners and renters alike choosing
to settle there to make their livings and their
lives. So from a sparkling oasis transformed to
a perpetual neon sunset, Las Vegas will
continue to be a star in the dessert.
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homes in Las Vegas
Photo Credit: Allan, Geof Wilson, Justin Brown