Las Vegas
The town of Las Vegas was born in 1905 when a railroad company sold land along its route to people who wanted to settle here.

Las Vegas begins
On May 15, 1905, the railroad's Las Vegas Land & Water Company sold the land around the train station. Hundreds of people came to the valley to buy land in the new town to build new homes and businesses. People were excited to be part of the new town! That day now marks the day that Las Vegas began as a town.

Early Las Vegas Photo courtesy of UNLV Special Collections

Water for the city
The new town also needed water. A few water pipes were built after the auction, but there was not always enough water to go around, especially when there was a fire. In fact, one big fire almost destroyed the new town. Las Vegas needed a good supply of water.

The water company built a new pipe underground to bring water from the
Las Vegas Springs to the town. Since Lake Mead didn't exist at the time, the springs gave Las Vegas the water it needed to grow.

A bank, several stores, barbershops, lumber companies, hotels and grocery stores were soon built along Fremont Street. People built houses and planted trees and bushes for shade. That's how the city of Las Vegas began.