May
Las Vegas History & Time Line
Las Vegas is known all around the world for gambling, drinking, bright lights, great weather & amazing shows. But how exactly did this city become to be such a hotspot? see the timeline below for a brief history of las vegas
10,000 Years Ago - Paleo-Indians visited Las Vegas valley as nomads, travelling and setting up camp in various places
2000 Years Ago - Anasazi Indians move to south Nevada and live long the Muddy and Virgin rivers.
1829 - A scout named Rafael Rivera is the first European to look at the valley, The valley is named las Vegas which is Spanish for “the meadows” because of its wild grass.
1844 - John C Fremont arrived in Las Vegas and kept a diary describing two springs he found.
1855 - Mormon church members choose las vegas as the place to build a halfway between Salt Lake city and Los Angeles
1964 - Nevada is admitted into the union as the 36th state of USA
Late 1800’s - Discovery of precious metals leads to mining industry in Las Vegas
1885 - The state of land act is introduced and land is sold at $1.25 per acre, this makes Farmers snap up the land and agriculture becomes a dominant industry for 20 years.
Early 1900’s - Railway completion linking Southern california & salt lake city make las vegas a railroad town
1905 - Las Vegas is founded as city on may 15th
1909 - Nevada Legislature creates lark county on july 1st,
1911 - Las Vegas is incorporated on march 11th, the population is at 800. Divorce laws are liberalized in Nevada making it esier to retain residency, and quickie divorce can be got in 6 weeks.
1930. Las Vegas population grows to over 5000
1931 - Hoover dam construction begins, this brings nd influx of construction workers which makes the population grow, gambling was legalised in March 1931
1935 - Hoover dam is completed and stands at 726 feet high, was the tallest dam when it was built.
1940’s - Las vegs population is now at 8,442 and WW2 breaks out, this brings the defense industry out due to its isolated location and with plenty o water supplies.
1944 - The city begins to operate council.
1945 -After WW2 hotels, resorts & casinos were built, these offered top name performers & entertainment which made tourism & entertainment the largest employer.
1950’s - First atomic bomb is detonated at the Nevada Test Site, people stood and watched the test. In 1955 Moulin Rouge opened its doors, it was the first racially integrated hotel, Topless showgirls also debuted in 1957 and two years later the “Welcome to fabulous las vegas sign” is created an the Nevada Gaming commission is created.
1960’s - corporations start to build/buy casino properties, as they are now seeing the gambling industry is highly lucrative, Gambling becomes known as gaming and starts to become a legitimate business, in 1968 Elvis Presley open at the International Hotel (not know as Las Vegas Hilton)
1970’s - corporations continue to heavily invest in the hotel/casino industry turning it into a legitimate business that is traded on the stock markets
1980 - Las Vegas’s economy remains very strong and the population is now at 164,000+, Annual population starts to rapidly grow at around 7% each year meaning the population double in 10 years.
1990’s - in 1993 the Dunes hotel is imploded, each year 4% growth in hotel rooms and 9% increase in jobs.
2000 - The official population of las vegas is now 478,434, Las Vegas is now the largest metropolitan city in the US founded in the 20th century, On May 15th 2005 Las Vegas celebrates it’s 100th birthday.
