History of Las Vegas
1800 - 1900 - Las Vegas' Origins
John C. Frémont traveled into the Las Vegas Valley on
May 3,
1844, while it was still part of
Mexico. He was a leader of a group of
scientists,
scouts and observers for the
United States Army Corps of Engineers. On
May 10,
1855, following
annexation by the
United States,
Brigham Young assigned 30
Mormon
missionaries led by
William Bringhurst to the area to convert the
Paiute
Indian population. A
Fort was built near the current downtown area.
The Mormons abandoned the site in
1857, due to internal disagreements between
Bringhurst and new comers who had more liberal
views. The skeleton staff that was left behind
mistreated the
Paiute
Indians. The Paiute retaliated and seized the
upcoming harvest, forcing the last of the settlers
back to
Salt Lake City.
The
U.S. Army, in an attempt to deceive
Confederate spies in
1864, falsely publicized that it reclaimed the
Fort and had renamed it
Fort Baker.
In
1865,
Octavius Gass re-occupied the Fort, and started
the irrigation works renaming the area to
Los Vegas Rancho. Due to his ability to make
wine on his ranch, Las Vegas was known as the best
stop on the
Mormon Trail. By
1872, Gass was able to expand his ranch to 640
acres, and as a legislator, was able to have the
territory his ranch resided on included as part of
Nevada instead of Arizona. In
1881 as a result of mismanagement, Gass lost
title to his ranch to
Archibald Stewart, who acquired it to pay off a
lien he had on the property.
The property (which was expanded to 1,800 acres),
stayed with the Stewart Family despite Archibald's
murder in
July of
1884 until it was traded in
1902 to
Montana's
Senator
William Clark for his ownership of the
San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad.
Continue to History of Las
Vegas pg#1
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