|
Walter Bracken
1870-1950
Walter Bracken was born in Ohio in 1870. He first
saw Las Vegas in 1901 when he moved to the valley to help plan the route
for the new railroad called the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad.
He was the railroad's first employee in Las Vegas.
Making Las Vegas a city
William Clark brought the railroad
to Las Vegas a few years earlier. The railroad brought people from all
over the country to Las Vegas, turning the town of Las Vegas into a city.
Bracken moved to the Las Vegas Ranch, also known as
the Old Mormon Fort. In 1904,
he became the city's postmaster and used the tent he lived in as a post
office. While handling the city's mail, Bracken also helped plan the new
city of Las Vegas.
New buildings for the new city
The railroad brought so many new people that new buildings were needed
to create the city. Bracken offered free land to anyone who would agree
to establish a church. He set aside land for the city library and the
Clark County Courthouse. Las Vegas was growing.
Bringing water to the new city
The railroad company splintered and started a new company called the Las
Vegas Land and Water Company. Bracken worked for both companies, and directed
the installation of the town's first water system. The water pipes they
used were made from pieces of redwood tied together with metal hoops,
much different than the pipes used today.
The railroad didn't want to install water pipes too
far from the train station because they wanted the town to grow around
the railroad first. Anyone who want to build away from the station had
to dig a well to get water.
Bracken helped raise the town into a city, serving
Las Vegas for nearly 50 years. He was the railroad's answer to
turning a town into a city.
|
