Las Vegas is the biggest city in Nevada. The name Las Vegas translated from Spanish literally means "The Meadows". This represents its once natural springs and green meadows. Las Vegas was the major "stopover" for wagons along the Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe to Los Angeles.
The first non-native person to discover the Valley was a Spanish scout named Rafael Rivera. It was a place with wild grasses growing in abundance and plenty of water. Mormons were the first to settle here in 1855 when 30 pioneers were sent by their leader, Brigham Young, to build a fort. They tried to mine here, but were unsuccessful. They left in 1857.
Las Vegas as we now know it, began in 1905 when the railroad arrived. Immediately, a tent city sprang up and later, a town was planned and buildings built. In 1911, the city was created by the state legislature and there were only 800 residents.
In the 1920's & 30's, crime entered Las Vegas in the form of the Mafia -mainly personified by Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel who built the famous Flamingo hotel as he attempted to muscle in on the local gambling scene. Over the next twenty years, many hotels created and run by the Mafia popped up around the city. Visitors were coming to Nevada for the prospects of bootlegging, prizefights, three-month divorces, liberal prostitution laws and backroom gambling. During this time, Governor Fred Baltzer came to power who changed the divorce law to six weeks and legalized gambling. Las Vegas became known as "Sin City" and has retained the title ever since.
It was not until Howard Hughes and his corporation took over several of the strip hotels in the late 1960's that Las Vegas began to legitimize itself by corporate respectability. There was still a mob presence in the city and remained so until the mid-80's.
By the end of 1989, Las Vegas had hit a boom of building projects with mega-hotels and casinos springing up all over the strip and smaller local casinos throughout the valley.
Today, Las Vegas is the number one tourist city in the United States and has the fastest growing population. Away from the world-renowned Strip and casinos, Las Vegas is like any other major American city.
More Interesting Facts about Las Vegas, Nevada - The climate for Las Vegas is arid. There is an average of 294 days of sunshine
each year. The weather in Las Vegas is generally dry and comfortable. - Las Vegas is the fastest growing city in America with a population growth
of 4-7 thousand people each month. - Las Vegas is set in a valley surrounded by mountains at an elevation of
2,020 feet above sea level. - Las Vegas has more golf courses and cell phones then any other city in America.
- The most and the largest conventions are held here as well.
- Not only is our population growing, but so is our culture; especially in
dance, fine arts, drama and music in and around the city. - The Valley of Fire, the Grand Canyon, Red Rock and Lake Mead are all within
comfortable driving distances.
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YWAM in Las Vegas
History & Other Facts
