The Morelli House, relocated and restored by the Junior League of Las Vegas and placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 3rd, 2012. (#11001086)
Located at 861 E. Bridger Ave in Las Vegas, Nevada
The Morelli House is a classic example of Las Vegas, mid-century, residential architecture. It was built in 1959 by the Sands Hotel orchestra leader, Antonio Morelli, and his wife Helen. Originally located at 52 Country Club Lane in the former Desert Inn Country Club Estates, now the Wynn Resort, the modernistic house then featured an open plan that integrated interior and exterior spaces, natural materials, and the latest innovative home appliances. In 2001, the Junior League of Las Vegas related the Morelli House to its present site and completed restoration in 2009.
Established by Conrad Kiel in 1875, this was one of the only two major ranches in Las Vegas Valley throughout the 19th century. The Kiel tenure was marked by violence. Neighboring rancher Archibald Stewart was killed in a gunfight here in 1884. Edwin and William Kiel were found murdered on the ranch in October 1900.
The San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad purchased the ranch in 1903 and later sold it to Las Vegas banker John S. Park, who built the elegant white mansion.
Subsequent owners included Edwin Taylor (1924-39), whose cowboy ranch hands competed in national rodeos, and Edwin Losee (1939-58), who developed the Boulderado Dude Ranch here, a popular residence for divorce seekers.
In the late 1950’s, business declined and the ranch was sold. In 1976, 26 acres of the original ranch were purchased jointly by the City of North Las Vegas and its Bicentennial Committee as a historic project.
The desire of local Mormon settlers for economic self-sufficiency led to mining by missionaries for lead at Potosi. In 1858, Nathaniel V. Jones was sent to recover ore from the “mountain of lead” 30 miles southwest of the mission at Las Vegas Springs. About 9,000 lbs. were recovered before smelting difficulties forced the remote mine to be abandoned in 1857. Potosi became the first abandoned mine in Nevada.
In 1861, California mining interests reopened the mine, and a smelter and rock cabins for 100 miners made up the camp of Potosi. Even more extensive operations resulted after the transcontinental Salt Lake and San Pedro R.R. (now the union pacific) was built through the county in 1905.
During World War I, Potosi was an important source of zinc.
Stretching for 130 miles across Clark County, this historic horse trail became Nevada’s first route of commerce in 1829 when trade was initiated between Santa Fe and Los Angeles. The trail was later used by the wagons of the “49ers” and Mormon pioneers. Concrete posts marking the trail were erected in 1965.
Stretching for 130 miles across Clark County, this historic horse trail became Nevada’s first route of commerce in 1829 when trade was initiated between Santa Fe and Los Angeles. The trail was later used by the wagons of the “49ers” and Mormon pioneers. Concrete posts marking the trail were erected in 1965.
Nevada Historical Marker No. 33
Located in Blue Diamond in front of the Village Market Mercantile at: N 36.04684 W 115.40651
This site is near where workers drove the last spike which completed the railroad between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Los Angeles, California. It was driven on January 30, 1905. This was the last “transcontinental” line to Southern California and one of the last lines built to the Pacific Coast. There was no formal celebration at the time of the last spike. The men on the spot gave some recognition to the event.
Las Vegas owes its existence to the railroad, then known as the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, as the men in charge laid out the town and established a division point there, taking advantage of a good supply of water.
Located at N 35.82381 W 115.28747
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Nevada State Historic Markers
Another historic marker about the same thing located nearby, from what I can tell at the actual location is this one:
The Last Spike
Track crews constructing west from Salt Lake City met track crews constructing east from Los Angeles January 30, 1905.
The high, symmetrically shaped mountain seen rising to the north is Pilot Peak, named by John C. Fremont on his expedition of 1845. Previously, the Bartleson-Bidwell party camped here in 1841. These emigrants had traveled one day and night across the Great Salt Lake Desert to find their first water here.
In the period 1845-1850, the peak was a famous landmark and symbol of hope and relief to the Reed-Donner Party and all other wagon train pioneers who traveled the 70-odd miles of deadly, thirst-and-heat-ridden steps across the Great Salt Lake Desert. This desert represented the worst section of the infamous Hastings Cutoff of the California Emigrant Trail.
Imagine Lake Bonneville some 10,000 years ago as a cast lake larger than the present Great Salt Lake. Its eastern boundary would be the Wasatch Mountains at Salt Lake City and its west boundary the Toano and Goshute Mountains to your left.
The last major glacial period in North America began about 23,000 years ago. During that time the water level of Lake Bonneville rose because of colder temperatures and a wetter climate. This freshwater lake was over 1,000 feet deep and covered 51,530 square miles – an area the size of Arkansas. If you were standing in this spot 15,000 years ago, you would be more than 500 feet underwater! Pilot Peak, the pyramid shaped mountain in front of you, was merely a small island surrounded by a freshwater lake teeming with fish.
About 15,500 years ago, water rushing through a break in a natural dam along Lake Bonneville’s northern shore dropped the lake level over 300 feet in just a few months! These raging floodwaters deepened the Snake River Canyon in Idaho. A warmer and drier climate over the next 5,000 years slowly caused the lake to shrink even further. Look carefully at the surrounding hills, especially east toward Wendover. You can still see the beach terraces left at the different high water marks as the lake receded. The Great Salt Lake is all that remains of this once vast lake.
Can Anything Survive Here?
Summer temperatures in this high desert can exceed 100 degrees; winter temperatures may fall below zero. Rain and snowfall total a mere six to eight inches per year. Only drought tolerant plants such as Indian ricegrass, shadscale, and greasewood can grow in the valley around you. The jackrabbit and pronghorn antelope are just two of the many animals that have adapted to living in this harsh environment.
This area wasn’t always a desert. Limber pine trees covered the Leppy Hills to the east from 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. As the climate became drier, pinyon pine and juniper trees replaced the limber pines at the lower elevations. Pinyon pines are relative newcomers to the surrounding mountains. They didn’t arrive until about 7,000 years ago. Today, limber pine and subalpine fir grow only at the higher, cooler and wetter elevations on Pilot Peak and nearby mountain ranges. Animals you might encounter in these forested areas include bighorn sheep, mule deer, elk and mountain lion.
In the fall thousands of raptors (birds of prey) migrate south along this valley. The Great Salt Lake Desert’s lack of food, water and lifting air currents form a migration barrier for these birds. Food, water and roosting sites are easy to find in the Toano and Goshute Ranges. Air rising over these mountains to the west provides the lift these birds need to soar. Conserving energy by soaring as much as possible during their long journey is a key to their survival.
Tough Traveling in the Desert
The Bidwell-Bartleson wagon train was the first emigrant party to see Pilot Peak in 1841. Four years later, Captain John C. Fremont also saw this distinctive landmark, but from the Cedar Range in Utah – some 75 miles away. He wanted to establish a trail from the Great Salt Lake to the existing California Trail along the Humboldt River. Fremont sent Kit Carson, a member of his expedition, ahead towards this peak to scout for a safe passage across the salt flats. Carson’s smoke signals from the mountain assured Fremont of a safe route and that the area contained food for the livestock and water for all. To recognize the importance of this mountain in crossing the desert, Fremont named it “Pilot Peak”.
In 1846 the Reed-Donner Party crossed this valley, following the Hastings Cutoff to the main California Trail. Crossing the salt flats just east of here was extremely difficult. Stock animals perished, wagons broke down, and the emigrants barely reached the life-saving springs at the base of Pilot Peak. This “short cut” slowed their progress and helped to set the stage for the disaster that lat 400 miles ahead of them in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
As travelers today along Interstate 80, you’re following the same route as these early explorers and emigrants. On a good day, they worked hard to cover 10 to 15 miles through this harsh landscape. In the comfort of your air conditioned vehicle, you can cover in 10 minutes the distance it took these earlier travelers all day to cover!
Overlooking the old California Emigrant Trail, Valmy was named after the Battle of Valmy in France. Established in 1910 by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company as a section point, Valmy served during the steam era as a water and fuel stop for the railroad.
Treaty Hill to the northwest marks a division point between the Paiute lands to the west and Shoshone lands to the east. For generations the scene of battles over two springs, Treaty Hill marks the site where peace was wrought by compromise, when two chiefs sat down and divided springs and territory between the warring tribes.
The first post office here was established as Stonehouse on November 26, 1890. The name was changed to Valmy March 24, 1915.
This is Nevada Historic Marker #167 located at the Valmy Rest Area on I-80.
The numerous valleys of Nevada have supported a vigorous cattle industry since the 1850’s. Beginning in the western part of the state, cattlemen ranged their herds throughout northern Nevada by the 1870’s. The completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 was the catalyst that created a prosperous industry. Longhorns from Texas were driven to fertile valleys for feeding, then shipped as far as Omaha and San Francisco to market.
As the mining booms subsided, Nevada’s ranches kept the state alive in the late 19th century. Improvements in breeding stock and winter feeding helped build vast ranching empires for hard working stockmen. Today, more than 90 per cent of Nevada’s crop land is devoted to feed for cattle. For more than a century, Nevada has been a principal food producer for the nation.
