Saturday, July 12, 2003 | 3:46 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION: July 12, 2003
A brief history of Las Vegas as provided by city of Las Vegas records and Sun archives:
1700s. Spanish traders en route to Los Angeles along the Spanish Trail seek a route that would pass through the then unexplored Las Vegas Valley. Rafael Rivera, a scout, is believed to be the first person of European descent to see the valley that was named "Las Vegas" (Spanish for "The Meadows.")
1855. Brigham Young assigns 30 Mormon missionaries to build a fort in the Las Vegas Valley, the first non-Indian settlement in the region. The fort is abandoned in 1857.
1885. The discovery of precious minerals leads to the beginning of the mining industry. The State Land Act of 1885 offers sections of Southern Nevada land at $1.25 per acre.
1905. The completion of the main railway linking Southern California with Salt Lake City establishes Las Vegas as a railroad town. The availability of artesian wells at Las Vegas Springs makes Las Vegas a refueling point. On May 15 Las Vegas is founded as a city with the auction of 110 acres of land in what is now downtown.
1909. The city, originally part of Lincoln County, becomes the county seat for the newly established Clark County. The city encompasses 19 square miles and has about 800 residents, less than 1 percent of the state's total population.
1910. Gambling is outlawed in Nevada.
1931. Gambling is legalized in Nevada on March 19. A month later the city issues six gambling licenses, establishing Fremont Street as the premier gambling center until the Strip is developed.
1931. State divorce laws are liberalized to allow divorces after just six weeks of residency, paving the way for Las Vegas to become the nation's divorce capital.
1931. Construction begins on the Hoover Dam, bringing an influx of construction workers who start a population boom. The boost to the valley's economy helps free Las Vegas from the grips of the Great Depression.
1940. The outbreak of World War II brings the defense industry to the valley. A military gunnery school is established that later becomes Nellis Air Force Base.
1941. The El Rancho Vegas is built at Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard, the first hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. It burns to the ground in 1960. The site is still a vacant lot.
1946. Mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel muscles into the ownership of the Flamingo Hotel after Hollywood Reporter founder Billy Wilkerson, a heavy gambler who was building the resort, seeks financial assistance to complete the $6 million project. Siegel is murdered less than a year after the opening. The Flamingo helps establish Las Vegas as a resort destination.
1966. Billionaire recluse Howard Hughes comes to Las Vegas and ushers in the age of corporate ownership of hotel-casinos by buying several major Strip resorts, among them the Desert Inn, Frontier and Sands. Hughes dies in 1976 at age 71.
1989. Steve Wynn opens The Mirage, which ushers in the megaresort era and sparks an unprecedented building boom on and off the Strip. The city becomes the nation's fastest-growing metropolitan area. In 2000 Wynn sells his Mirage Resorts Inc., which by then includes four resorts. Months later he buys the Desert Inn, which he is converting to a new resort, Wynn Las Vegas, scheduled to open in April 2005.
1995. Las Vegas' population grows from 186,380 in 1985 to 368,360 in 1995 -- a 97.6 percent increase.
2005. Las Vegas celebrates its 100th birthday. The projected population for the Las Vegas Valley is 2 million. Las Vegas will have the distinction of being the largest metropolitan city in the United States that was founded in 20th century.
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