The Old Mormon Fort, Las Vegas

If you are a history buff you will surely want to learn about the Las Vegas area and the best place to do this is at the Old Mormon Fort that stands in the Old Las Vegas Mormon State Historic Park.

The fort was built by Mormon missionaries in 1855 and was the first European building in the area. The Mormons settled here only for a short period and the fort was the mid-point between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. It was built on the banks of one of the creeks branching off from the Las Vegas Springs and the settlers built irrigation ditches to water their crops.

Although the 46 square meter adobe building was called a fort, it wasn’t used for military purposes, but rather as a refuge from Indian attacks. The Mormons left the area in 1857 and for a short time the US Army sent troops there to defend the settlers. Over the years the fort was owned by miners, ranchers and in 1929 it was used as an office during the construction of the Hoover Dam.

Today only part of the building is standing, but in the Visitors Centre you can see artifacts left by the previous inhabitants, including a spinning wheel, bullet mold, butter churner and a pump organ. There is a replica of the first American flag to fly over Las Vegas; it has 19 stars and 13 stripes. There is also a recreation of army living quarters with a narrow bed, table, chairs, lanterns and ammunition.

Although the creek has long since dried up, an irrigation system leads to the “Garden in the Desert” where there is a picnic area and you can see the types of crops that the first settlers planted. There is also a very good gift shop where you can find interesting details about the fort.