History in Nevada goes back to pre-historic times. Just think of the state fossil ichthyosaur that comes from the age of the dinosaurs, or of a poster demonstrating on the proper use of sunglasses when viewing ity, atomic bomb tests - obviously LasVegas has a host of stories to tell. Whether from the distance past or not so distant 20th-century, what stories and sites remain are larger than life - just like Las Vegas.

Hoover Dam -U.S. 93 south / Boulder City / 702-294-3523 /$ The Hoover Dam may not be the oldest thing around, but it certainly had more influence on the changing dynamic of Las Vegas than any other development. Built during the depression and named after President Hoover, the construction finished two years ahead of schedule and created the largest dam in the Western Hemisphere. The Dam (at one time named Boulder Dam) tamed the Colorado flood patterns, became a major electrical supplier to the southwest and created one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. Without it, Las Vegas would not be the recreation and vacation center it is today. / reservations recommended for both regular and hard hat tours

Clark County Museum - 1830 S. Boulder Highway / Clark County NV / 702-455-7955 / Modest Fee
See Las Vegas Museums section for more information

Chloride - Mining Town - U.S. 93 / at the Nevada-Arizona line / 520-565-4888 / FREE Once this was a silver mining camp, the oldest of it’s kind in Arizona. Today a few of the original buildings remain and adjacent is a reconstruction of a Wild West town complete with Saturday high-noon shoot-outs once a month. Of interest are the rock paintings of artist Roy Purcell located a couple of miles into the hills.

Grapevine Canyon - near Laughlin / U.S. 95 & Nevada Rte. 164 / 800-452-8445 / FREE An hour away from the strip, Grapevine Canyon in the Newberry Mountains is known for it’s ancient petroglyphs. Park rangers lead hikes into these remote areas and know of some of the best petroglyph creations of the early Native Americans.

Las Vegas Natural History Museum - 900 N. Las Vegas Blvd. / Las Vegas NV / 702-384-3466 / $
See Las Vegas Museums section for more information

Nevada State Museum and Historical Society -700 Twin Lakes Drive / Las Vegas NV / 702-486-5205 / Modest Fee See Las Vegas Museums section for more information

Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort Historic Park - 500 E. Washington Ave. / Las Vegas NV / 702-486-3511 / Modest Fee Brigham Young sent a group of men to this site to build a fort in 1855 to discourage other setters from coming into the area and to fend off the angry Indians. The forts ranch house is furnished with period furniture and is the oldest known building in Nevada, the entire original fort site is conveniently located just north of The Strip.

Pioche - Mining Town in Lincoln County - U.S. 93 north and Cotton Ave. / north of Clark NV / 775-962-5544 Donations Accepted The wildest mining town in the old west! At least that is what the legend says. In three years from 1869–72, miners pulled over 5 million dollars in ore from the local mines. Graft, greed and shootouts were the order of the day and saloons did a booming business. The “Million Dollar”courthouse has been restored and the Lincoln County Museum is on site. Several other ghost towns are in the vicinity, the best the bunch is Delamar which has many intact buildings..

Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings - off I-15, 35 miles south of Las Vegas / 702-874-9362 / FREE By eastern standards, the building is not so very old, but in history - it’s rich and colorful. Bullet holes still remain in the walls. Built in 1913, it is perhaps the oldest stamped metal building in existence. Furnishings include the original poker tables, a cherry wood bar that predates the building and an old potbelly stove. The saloon was where in 1942, Clark Cable waited for news of his wife, Carole Lombard who was killed in a plane crash on a nearby mountain.

Tule Springs Ranch / Floyd Lamb State Park - 9200 Tule Springs Rd. / / (702) 486-5413 Tule Spring Ranch has one of the best examples of a Pleistocene site in Western North America. In the distant and wetter past, the area was populated by large mammals, the fossil record contains the remains of bison, camels, giant sloths, horses and mammoths. Native Americans and mining prospectors have also left their mark in this region. In the second quarter of the 20th century, Tule Spring was known as a popular Dude Ranch for those waiting out the six-month residency requirement to get a “quickie” Nevada divorce.


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