Las Vegas History. The Story Of Vegas (Part 1)
As every online gambling fan knows, Vegas is the ultimate gambling experience, the capital of world punting. As Las Vegas celebrates its 100th birthday, we look at how a tiny desert town turned into the ultimate gambling Mecca.
Putting Vegas On The Map
With its glittering strip and non-stop nightlife, it's now hard to believe that the name Las Vegas means "The Meadows" in Spanish.
The city of Las Vegas was christened in 1829 by a Santa Fe merchant called Antonio Armijo. He was leading a party of Spaniards from Texas to Los Angeles when he stopped for refreshment at the valley's artesian springs. Even then, the area proved itself useful for trade, shortening the so-called Spanish trail to Los Angeles by providing travellers with a convenient stopping-off point.
Mormons and Indians
At this point, Paiute Indians were the only people who lived in the Las Vegas valley. In 1855, however, Brigham Young, head of the Mormon church and founder of the Mormon colony in Utah, assigned 30 of his missionaries to build a fort in the area. This was abandoned a few years later, however, once the Indians had made it clear that they were less than impressed with the missionaries' teachings.
More new settlers eventually moved in towards the end of the 19th century. As minerals were discovered in the area, mining and agriculture became established, and sections of land were bought up for the farming which would dominate the valley for the next 20 years or so.
Arrival Of The Railway
In the 1900s, the valley's springs, combined with the completion of the new railway linking California with Utah, prompted the birth of Las Vegas as a city in a desert setting. The springs were piped into town to provide a source of fresh water, making the town a stopping-off point for railways and wagon trains linking Albuquerque, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City.
The town was officially founded in 1905, when 110 acres of land were auctioned off. But even by the time it became an incorporated city in 1911, Las Vegas had a population of just 800.
Initially, Las Vegas may not have seemed like a hopeful setting for gambling. Strict anti-gambling laws, which prohibited even tossing a coin, were passed by the Nevada state legislature in 1910. However, the spirit of Las Vegas was already evident in the way that these were quickly bypassed by speakeasy gambling operations.
Gambling & Divorce Capital
In 1931, things changed. Gambling became legal in the state of Nevada and six gambling licences were issued in the city. Nevada also introduced liberal divorce laws, which made it possible to end a marriage provided one had been resident in the state for six weeks. People seeking these 'quickie' divorces lived in so-called "dude ranches", which preceded the strip's hotels.
The valley's economy and population continued to grow with the construction of the Hoover Dam in 1931, and its isolated location made it an ideal home for defence-related industries during the Second World War. Many residents of the valley are still employed in these industries.
It was during the 1940s that the Las Vegas we know today began to take shape, with developers beginning to build big hotels with casinos in them. After the Second World War, Las Vegas's reputation as the gambling capital of the world would really begin to get established.
The story of Las Vegas, part 1: key dates
1829
Las Vegas (The Meadows) gets its name from a Santa Fe merchant called Antonio Armijo, en route from Texas to LA.
1855
30 Mormon missionaries build a fort in the area, but fail to win over the local Indians to their beliefs.
1905
Official founding of Las Vegas as a town, now supplied with water piped in from the local springs and part of the country's embryonic rail network.
1911
Las Vegas is officially incorporated as a city, population 800.
1931
Gambling becomes legal in the state of Nevada. The first gambling licences were issued in Las Vegas, which was now also becoming a centre for quickie divorces.
