History of Las Vegas
Prehistoric Southern Nevada was a marsh, while now it’s an arid landscape. In 1993 some construction workers discovered the remains of a Columbian mammoth that roamed the area in prehistoric times.
In the early 1700s Spanish traders seek a route that passed throw then the unexplored valley. Later on the route was called journey of death (‘jornada de muerte’, Spanish). Rafael Rivera was the first European person to look upon the valley and the valley was named Las Vegas (Spanish for ‘The Meadows’).
In 1844, cpt. John Fremont (explorer) writes about the valley and eleven years later 30 Mormon missionaries were assigned to build a fort in the Las Vegas Valley. You can still see the remains of the fort on the corner of Washington Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. But two years later the fort is abandoned.
In late 1800s minerals were discovered in the valley and so the mining industry was brought here. In the same period, the railway between Southern California and Salt Lake City was completed and Las Vegas became a town on the railroad.
In 1885 farmers moved in Las Vegas and agriculture became the dominant industry (the State Act of 1885 offered land at 1.85$ per acre).
Las Vegas was founded as a city on May 15, 1905, and on March 19, 1911 gambling is legalized in the State of Nevada. In 1940 the first hotel casino, El Rancho Vegas, was constructed in Las Vegas. Gangster Bugsy Siegal built a lavish hotel casino in 1946, Flamingo.
Today the city has more then one million inhabitants and over 38 million tourists visit it each year. Las Vegas is one of the fastest growing cities in US. It is home to 14 from 15 largest hotels in US. The main sources of income are now gambling and entertainment, part of the tourism industry.
by axxyutza