Old Mormon Fort on Historic Nevada: KNPB Online

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Old Mormon Fort 30 Mormon missionaries arrived in the Las Vegas Valley on Thursday, June 14 1855 after travelling for 35 days from Salt Lake City. They were charged with building a fort to create a way station between the settlements in Utah and those in California. They were also expected to develop peaceful relations with the local Indians and convert them to Mormonism. The fort quickly became a stopover for travelers and when lead was discovered less than 35 miles away, it looked like the small settlement may become permanent.

Trouble between the Federal authorities and Brigham Young's followers, dissention between the leaders of the community, the summer heat, and the difficulties of growing enough food in the alkaline soil of the Las Vegas Valley forced the recall of the missionaries to Utah and the fort was abandoned in 1857.

In 1865 Octavious D. Gass, acquired the Mormon fort site in 1865. He bought out other landholders to create a ranch, and later built a store and blacksmith shop to service travelers. Archibald and Helen Stewart acquired the ranch after Gass. Mrs. Stewart lived there until she sold it to the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Slat Lake Railroad.

More about the Mormon Fort:

The original fort was built of adobe, 150 feet square, with bastions at the northwest and southeast corners.
The building was used as a testing lab and office for the United States Bureau of Reclamation in 1929, during the construction of Hoover Dam.
Of the original structures, only 1 wall of the fort remains. Original foundations are underground but the majority of the above ground structures today are reconstructions.
In order to become self-sustaining each man at the settlement was allotted five acres to plant crops, eventually fruit trees were brought in and the settlement approached sustainability. The difficulty in growing enough crops for survival was a factor in abandoning of the fort in 1857.
The fort was 150 feet square and built of adobe brick. Residences were located within the fort.
The local Indians, Paiutes, were friendly and helped the missionaries in building the fort and in keeping their crops. Many were baptized into the Church.
The first school was organized in the fall of 1856 and attended by both white and Indian children.
William Bringhurst was the first post master when the first post office was established in Las Vegas.
Lead was discovered at the Potosi Mine less than 35 miles away. More than 4 tons was mined

Chris Macek, Park Interpreter:
"I think to really understand where you live today, you really need to understand what came before, the way people lived, the sacrifices. People can come to this site and kind of step back in time a little bit and get an idea. Today, we have air conditioning, we have cars, and we take a lot of stuff for granted. But you can come here and see what it took to live here, what it really took and you can really appreciate what Las Vegas has become today if you know what it took to get to that point. I think a connection to one's history is real important to understand and get full enjoyment of one's life. To understand why we can live in Las Vegas today, you have to understand what it took to get to this point."