Las Vegas Old Mormon Fort (Nevada's Oldest Building)
Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Las Vegas Old Mormon Fort (Nevada’s Oldest Building). Las Vegas had its beginning at this location on June 14, 1855, when thirty-two Mormon missionaries arrived from Utah under the leadership of William Bringhurst. They set to work establishing farm fields that summer, and began to build a 150-foot square adobe fort that September, enclosing eight two-story houses. They cultivated small gardens and fields, planted fruit and shade trees, and tried to convert the local Southern Paiutes.Most of the Mormons departed in 1857, and by 1865, Octavius Decatur Gass began developing the Las Vegas Rancho, using the adobe structures as headquarters. He farmed and raised beef cattle, supplying travellers and miners in the Potosi region.Helen J. Stewart, owner of the property from 1882 to 1902, expanded the ranch to 1,800 acres, which she sold to the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad for the Las Vegas townsite. The Company auctioned the land on May 15, 1905, starting the process of building the Las Vegas around you today.
Erected by Nevada State Historic Preservation Office
The Story
In June 1855, thirty-two Mormon missionaries from Utah arrived at this spring-fed valley and set to building a 150-foot-square adobe fort, planting fields and orchards in the desert. Most left by 1857, and the sturdy walls passed to rancher Octavius Decatur Gass, who ran cattle and supplied nearby miners. Helen J. Stewart later grew the ranch to 1,800 acres before selling it to the railroad, whose 1905 land auction founded modern Las Vegas. The old adobe remains Nevada's oldest building.
Why it matters
From this modest mission fort grew one of America's most famous cities, making the site the literal cornerstone of Las Vegas history.
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Related people
- · William Bringhurst
- · Octavius Decatur Gass
- · Helen J. Stewart
Themes & tags
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