The Railroad Cottages
Las Vegas’ first housing tract

The railroad played an important role in Las Vegas’ early days. With the creation of “Clark’s Las Vegas Townsite in 1905, the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad formed a corporation to handle their interests. The corporation was named “The Las Vegas Land and Water Company.”

Between 1909 and 1911, the corporation built 64 houses for railroad employees. There were four-room and five-room cottages and four exterior elevations. They were constructed of cement block with an open front porch and a rear screen porch.

After submitting a request for the privilege of residing in one of the cottages, early tenants, mostly upper-level and long-term employees, paid a monthly rent of $18.00 or $20.00 with a future option to buy. Some were purchased immediately for cash.

The historic railroad cottage neighborhood has been slowly demolished with the development of downtown Las Vegas. In 1978 there were 41 cottages, in 1984 there were 37, in 2001 there were 13 and today only 5 remain in their original location.

This cottage was located at 521 Third Street. It had been owned by the Cram family and was the most desirable for restoration since it retained many of its original features.

Located at the Clark County Museum at 1830 South Boulder Highway in Henderson, Nevada