Walter Bracken
1870-1950

Born in 1870 in Mount Pleasant, Ohio, Walter Bracken first saw Las Vegas in 1901 as part of a team of men choosing a route for the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad. The team told the railroad planners to buy Las Vegas Ranch, a well-known rest stop with abundant water. Its location and water meant it could grow into a larger community where a train's steam engines could be fixed, and where train crews and mechanics could stay during their trips.

Bracken moves to the Las Vegas Ranch
Bracken moved onto the Las Vegas Ranch where he became the postmaster in 1904. Bracken's post office was a tent in which he lived. He was also helping to plan the new town of Las Vegas. He arranged to give free land to anyone who would agree to establish a church, and he set aside the land on which a city library and even the Clark County Courthouse eventually were built.

In 1905, when the railroad auctioned off the lots for the new town, Bracken bought a lot of his own. He then caught a train to Utah and married a school teacher named Anna Johnson. Anna became a leader in the community, helping to create the first local library.

Working for the railroad and water company
Walter Bracken worked for the railroad in Las Vegas, and he worked for the Las Vegas Land and Water Company, which was owned by the railroad. Bracken directed the installation of the town's first water system, using pipes made of pieces of redwood tied together with metal hoops.

The railroad was slow to run any water pipes beyond the land that was part of their original townsite. They wanted the town to grow up close to the railroad. Because of this, people who wanted to build in other parts of the Las Vegas area had to dig their own wells to get water. After a while, there were many wells in the valley, all pouring out water that had been stored in the ground. These wells are one of the reasons that the groundwater got lower and lower.

Walter Bracken continued to serve the town of Las Vegas until his death on July 13, 1950.