John C. Fremont             
1813-1890

John C. Fremont Photo courtesy of UNLV Special Collections

The Army Expedition
Fremont was born John Charles Fremon in Savannah, Georgia, in 1813 (the "t" was added to the family name shortly after his father's death). As a young man, Fremont learned to pack a mule and prepare for lengthy travels. He was appointed to the U.S. Topographical Corps where he helped map the country between the Upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

In 1843, the United States Congress approved money for a U.S. Army expedition into the West to map the area between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Fremont, along with Christopher "Kit" Carson, set out to map out a wagon and railroad route across North America. They explored the Truckee and Carson River basin and discovered Pyramid Lake in the Northern Nevada along the way.

Putting Las Vegas on the map
Fremont headed south to find the Spanish Trail toward Santa Fe where the dangers were just beginning. Fremont and his men faced starvation and thirst. But on May 3, 1844, Fremont and his party found themselves in Southern Nevada. They stopped to rest at place known to the Spaniards as "Las Vegas" or "the meadows."

The route through Las Vegas became well traveled once Fremont returned to the East Coast. Fremont kept an extensive journal and mapped his routes. Offering his new-found knowledge to Congress, thousands of copies of his journal and the map of his trip were printed and distributed among the settlers. This route through Las Vegas became famous as part of the "Old Spanish Trail."

John C. Fremont continued to travel, leading expeditions to California, fighting battles against the Mexican government and even running for president of the United States. Fremont fought as a general in the Union army in the Civil War and was appointed governor of Arizona in 1878. His explorations led people to call him "the Pathfinder."