The
Old Mormon Fort today
Las Vegas Blvd. & Washington
Southern Nevada has been home to many people for
centuries. The
people who settled in Las Vegas came here because there was water.
Building the Mormon Fort
In June 1855, Mormons came to Southern Nevada and built a fort near the
Las Vegas Springs. They built a
wall around the fort that was 14 feet high! They planted crops to feed
their families and built a school, mess hall and small rooms where the
families lived.
The fort was home to 30 missionaries and their families
who traveled from Utah to Las Vegas. When the Mormons left Nevada in 1858,
they left behind their fort, which people used as a rest stop for many
years.
Visit the Mormon Fort
Part of the Mormon Fort still stands. The land is part of a state historic
park. The fort is near the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Washington Ave.
near Cashman Field. Ask your parents to take you!
Did you know that Octavius
Decatur Gass and Helen Stewart
lived at the Mormon Fort? Read their stories to learn about life in the
Old West.
