Nevada's First State Park
Clark County, Clark County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Nevada’s First State Park. Along with most Americans, Nevadans by the 1920’s began to demand greater access to the outdoors, precipitating early efforts on the part of the legislature to designate state lands for recreational use. Building on those efforts, a 1931 land exchange transferred 8760 acres of federal land to the state at Nevada.In 1934, that land was officially dedicated as Valley of Fire, Nevada’s first state park. The following year, Nevada’s legislature established this and three other parks at Beaver Dam, Cathedral Gorge and Kershaw-Ryan. These parks owe much of their early infrastructure to the work of Civilian Conservation Corps crews led by Thomas W. Miller of Reno, who also served as the first chairman of the State Parks Commission. By 2015, Valley of Fire State had grown fourfold, and is recognized internationally for its outstanding scenic, geologic, and archaeological features.
Erected by Nevada State Historic Preservation Office
The Story
As outdoor recreation gained popularity in the 1920s, Nevadans pressed the legislature to set aside public lands, and a 1931 federal land exchange laid the groundwork. In 1934 the state dedicated Valley of Fire as its first state park, followed a year later by Beaver Dam, Cathedral Gorge, and Kershaw-Ryan. Civilian Conservation Corps crews, directed by Thomas W. Miller of Reno, built much of the early infrastructure, and by 2015 Valley of Fire had grown fourfold into an internationally renowned scenic and archaeological preserve.
Why it matters
The park marks the birth of Nevada's conservation movement and the New Deal's lasting imprint, as CCC labor turned public land into places Americans could explore and protect.
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Related people
- · Thomas W. Miller
Related events
- · Civilian Conservation Corps
Themes & tags
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