Virgin Valley
Mesquite, Clark County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Virgin Valley. Famed western explorer Jedediah Smith visited Virgin Valley in 1826. Captain John C. Fremont passed through here in 1844.The valley served as the right-of-way for the Old Spanish Trail (1829-1848) and for the Mormon Road or southern route of travel to southern California.Pioneers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints settled the area of Bunkerville in 1877 and Mesquite in 1880.The Virgin River provided water for the development of the valley’s agricultural resources.
Erected by Southern Nevada Historical Society
The Story
The Virgin Valley was a corridor of Western exploration and migration long before it was farmed. Jedediah Smith passed through in 1826 and John C. Frémont in 1844, and the valley carried both the Old Spanish Trail (1829–1848) and the Mormon Road toward southern California. Latter-day Saint pioneers put down permanent roots, founding Bunkerville in 1877 and Mesquite in 1880, drawing life from the waters of the Virgin River.
Why it matters
This desert valley knits together the fur-trade explorers, the Spanish Trail, and Mormon colonization that opened the far Southwest to American settlement.
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Related people
- · Jedediah Smith
- · John C. Frémont
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Old Spanish Trail
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Stretching 130 miles across what is now Clark County, the Old Spanish Trail became Nevada's first route of commerce in 1829, when trade opened between Santa Fe and Los Angeles. This rugged horse-and-pack trail later carried gold-rush "49ers" and Mormon pioneers westward. Concrete posts were placed to mark its course in 1965.
Old Spanish Trail: Journey of the Dead Man
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On the Old Spanish Trail, the fifty-five waterless miles between Las Vegas and the Muddy River earned the grim name Jornada del Muerto, the Journey of the Dead Man. Bleached bones and broken wagons marked the sandy crossing, which seasoned travelers made by night to spare their animals the desert sun. When John C. Frémont crossed in 1844, his party chewed cactus and sour dock for moisture until, near midnight, their thirsty mules bolted ahead toward the welcome water of the Muddy.
Old Spanish Trail: Armijo's Route
Henderson, NV
On January 8, 1830, the merchant Antonio Armijo led the first pack train from Santa Fe through the Las Vegas Valley to Los Angeles, opening a trade link between the Mexican provinces of New Mexico and California. Some sixty men drove woolen goods west and returned east with herds of mules and horses along what became known as the Old Spanish Trail. Contemporaries called it the longest and most arduous pack-mule route in America, and it remained the principal path between the two territories until the Mexican War ended in 1848.
Old Spanish Trail
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For decades before the railroads, a rugged pack-trail linked the Spanish outposts of Santa Fe and the growing settlement of Los Angeles, threading 130 miles across what is now Clark County. Opened to commerce in 1829, it carried woolen goods east and mules and horses west, becoming the region's first true artery of trade. Later the same path guided gold-seeking '49ers and Mormon emigrant wagons toward California. Concrete posts set in 1965 preserve the route's memory.