Living Las Vegas

Real Life in the Shadow of the Strip

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Oasis in the Asphalt: Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park

The City of Las Vegas is proud to be a hundred years old, but there’s something older with a significant birthday this year, too. Celebrating its founding in 1855 is the Old Mormon Fort, the first permanent structure erected in the Las Vegas valley. The area was already known as Las Vegas — Spanish for “The Meadows” — because the valley lay along the route of the Old Spanish Trail to California. With the only year-round surface water for miles around, it was a true oasis for gold seekers, traders, Paiute Indians, and anyone else brave enough to cross the Mojave in an age before internal combustion engines and air conditioning.

In June, 1855, thirty Mormon missionaries arrived on the banks of Las Vegas Creek and began construction on a small square adobe fort. Two years later, they were gone, but their claim to being the first developers in Las Vegas cannot be disputed.

The Old Mormon Fort is now a state park, and its brand new multi-million dollar visitor center just opened. In addition, the grounds have been spiffed up, and a short stretch of Las Vegas Creek, which dried up long ago, has even been re-hydrated. Along with the reconstructed adobe fort, there are picturesque artifacts to peruse, including an old freight wagon and the first American flag to fly over Las Vegas. A replica “Pioneer Garden” lies along one side of the enclave. Corn, sunflowers, and a variety of vegetables are flourishing in raised beds. There are also apple, fig, and peach trees, and heavily laden grape vines cover an arbor.

As the name suggests, the Old Mormon Fort will not appeal to people in search of neon, slot machines, and slushy drinks in souvenir glasses. It does provide, on the other hand, a glimpse of what it offered those early travelers. The surroundings have changed considerably, but the park is still a shady, peaceful oasis in the midst of a harsher environment.