| Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Reconstructed portion of fort in downtown Las Vegas | |
  Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park Location in Las Vegas Show map of Downtown Las Vegas Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort Show map of NevadaState Historic Park (Nevada) | |
| Location | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Coordinates | 36°10′50″N115°08′01″W / 36.18056°N 115.13361°W /36.18056; -115.13361[1] |
| Area | 3.16 acres (1.28 ha)[2] |
| Elevation | 1,923 ft (586 m)[1] |
| Established | 1991 |
| Administered by | Nevada Division of State Parks |
| Designation | Nevada state historic park |
| Website | Official website |
Las Vegas Mormon Fort | |
 Part of the original fort, later remodeled and used as a testing laboratory by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation | |
| Location | 500 E. Washington Ave. Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Area | 0.699 acres |
| Built | 1855 |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000764 (original) 78003379 (increase) |
| MARKER No. | 35 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 1, 1972 |
| Boundary increase | December 12, 1978 |
Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park is astate park ofNevada. It contains the Old Mormon Fort (completed 1855), the first permanent structure built in what would becomeLas Vegas fifty years later.[3] In present-day Las Vegas, the site is at the southeast corner ofLas Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue, less than one mile north of thedowntown area andFremont Street. This is the only U.S. state park located in a city that houses the first building ever built in that city.[4] The fort was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places on February 1, 1972.[5] The site is memorialized with a tablet erected bythe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1997,[6] along withNevada Historical Marker #35,[7] and two markers placed by theDaughters of Utah Pioneers.
It was built in theNew Mexico folk carpenter architectural style to facilitate travel along theSpanish Trail, and to enableMormon missionary work in theLas Vegas Valley and to those traveling fromNew Mexico toCalifornia.[8][9]
The fort was surrounded by 14-foot (4.3 m) highadobe walls that extended for 150 feet (46 m). While called a fort, it was never home to any military troops but like many Mormon forts provided a defense and shelter for local settlers and travelers.[citation needed]
Mormonmissionaries led byWilliam Bringhurst arrived on June 14, 1855, and selected a site, along one of the creeks that flowed from theLas Vegas Springs, on which they would build the fort. The fort served as the midpoint on the trail betweenSalt Lake City, Utah andLos Angeles, California. As a result of the beginning of theUtah War, the Mormons abandoned the fort.
Around 1860, a small detachment ofU.S. Army troops was assigned to protect the settlers at the fort.[citation needed]
The fort was called Fort Baker during theCivil War, named afterEdward Dickinson Baker. In a letter from Col.James Henry Carleton written to Pacific Department headquarters, December 23, 1861, Carleton mentions his plan to send an advance party of seven companies fromFort Yuma to reoccupyFort Mojave and reestablish the ferry there.[10] Carleton then intended to send on from there three cavalry companies and one of infantry to the Mormon fort at Las Vegas, and establish a post called Fort Baker. This was in preparation for an advance to Salt Lake City the following year.[11] The move to reoccupy Fort Mojave never occurred as planned because Carleton'sCalifornia Column at Fort Yuma were sent instead intoArizona andNew Mexico to evict the Confederates there the next year. However, Fort Mojave was later reoccupied in 1863 by Union troops from California. In 1864, a road survey party led by Captain Price, Company M,2nd California Cavalry Regiment traveled on the route from Fort Douglas to Fort Mojave passing through Las Vegas, stopping for water there on June 10. No mention is made of any garrison there.[12] Presumably the post was never garrisoned during the Civil War.
In 1865,Octavius Gass re-occupied the fort and started the irrigation works, renaming the area to Los Vegas Rancho (later renamed Las Vegas in 1902). Gass defaulted on a loan to Archibald Stewart in 1881 and lost the ranch, with Stewart and his wife Helen becoming the new caretakers. In 1902, William A. Clark'sSan Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad acquired the property from Helen Stewart along with most of what is now downtown Las Vegas, transferring most of the company's land to the now defunctLas Vegas Land and Water Company.[13]
Ownership of the fort and the land around it changed hands many times and it had several close calls with destruction. In 1955, the land was acquired by the Las VegasElks. With support of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, the city of Las Vegas acquired the fort in 1989. Long-term protection was gained when the state acquired the site as a state park in 1991.[14]
A $4.5 million renovation and visitor center, designed by assemblageSTUDIO, was completed in 2005.[15] Avisitor center explains the history of the fort.[3]
The fort appears in the 2010 video gameFallout: New Vegas, where it is depicted as the base of operations for the Followers of the Apocalypse, a group aiming to help the area's residents.[16][17]
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| Former casinos | |
