John Steele, one of the first of the Mormon Missionaries to arrive at what became the "Las Vegas Mission," wrote the above in his journal to recount the activities of the first Independence Day celebrations in The group arrived from Salt Lake less than three weeks before on June 14, after being called by President Brigham Young to establish this mission to convert the nomadic Southern Paiute Indians to Mormonism and teach them new farming techniques.
The Mormons wanted to establish a halfway station in the valley for travelers between Salt Lake City and the Pacific Coast. The area was particularly coveted for Mormon territorial expansion because it was located halfway between the Mormon settlements of Southern Utah and the San Bernardino Mission established in in Southern California. After the mission closed, the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort served as a ranch, resort, and cement testing facility. Today, a small portion of the original fort wall, part of the bastion, the underground foundation of the ranch, and remnants of the testing lab, remain to tell the story of the origins of Las Vegas.
On June 11, the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort came alive again as re-enactors many descendants of the original Utah Pioneers brought Old Glory out at the fort yard as they had done years before. Ranch owner, Helen Stewart, was seen on the grounds.
Civil War re-enactors recalled the war's importance to Nevada's history. Lunch was served by the pioneers in Dutch ovens like they used in the past. All of this was done to honor the memory of the many faces that contributed to the history of the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort, and promote its legacy in hopes of preserving it for future generations.
The lesson was written by Dr. Linda Miller, a retired secondary social studies teacher and adjunct at the Community College of Southern Nevada. The lesson was edited by the staff at the Teaching with Historic Places program and historians in Las Vegas. This lesson is one in a series that brings the important stories of historic places into classrooms across the country. This lesson was produced in , the th anniversary of the founding of Las Vegas and the th anniversary of the building of the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort.
