How long did it take to build Las Vegas?

In 1829, a Spanish caravan heading to Los Angeles passed 100 miles northeast of what is now Las Vegas. A small group of people set out west to find water. A young scout, Rafael Rivera, left the army and entered an unexplored desert alone.

After two weeks of searching, he finally found the spring. Rafael Rivera was the first non-Indian known to have set foot in the Las Vegas Valley. Later, the Spanish named this valley "Las Vegas", which means "fertile grassland"

In 1843, Kidd Carson, a scout stationed on the frontier, Kid Carson led John C. Fremont's expedition across the Nevada border and mapped Nevada. On May 13, 1844, Frémont and his expedition camped near the Las Vegas Spring. Today, people can find Fremont's name in museums and history books, and the Fremont Hotel-Casino in Old Town Las Vegas and the famous Fremont Street are even more famous. It is named after him to commemorate this explorer.

In 1855, the Mormons built a 150-square-foot fort in the Las Vegas Valley, the first fort built here by non-Indians. The Mormons planted fruit trees and vegetables here, and they wanted to teach the local Paiute Indians their planting techniques. But the Paiutes refused to accept Mormon education and occasionally attacked the fort. In 1857, the Mormons abandoned the fort and left.

In 1890, railroad developers decided to use the water-rich Las Vegas Valley as a transfer station. In the summer of 1904, construction began on Las Vegas' first railroad. In 1905, the completion of the main line connecting Southern California to Salt Lake City made Las Vegas a true railroad city. Railroads were Las Vegas' main industry for the next 25 years.

On May 15, 1905, Las Vegas officially became a city. On this day, 120 lots totaling 110 acres of land were auctioned.

Initially, Las Vegas was considered part of Lincoln County until 1909, when it became the seat of government of the newly formed Clark County.

On March 16, 1911, Las Vegas incorporated some surrounding land and adopted its first charter. At that time, Las Vegas had a total area of ??19.18 square miles and a total of nearly 800 residents, less than 1% of the state's total population. At that time, Clark County's population was 3,321.

By 1930, the population of Las Vegas had grown to 5,165. Three major events occurred in 1931 that changed the face of Nevada and Las Vegas.