The VEgas Best

[patricia008]

Content edited for spamming.

[GaryB]

Oh the irony. SPAM postings about Vegas :o

[Mikejts]

What goes on in Vegas stays in vegas. ???

[packratt53]

one can only hope ----

[Bob]

Most are now housing or industrial but there were several. Bard is the best preserved within the immediate valley and there ain't much left a Pierce, Dike and Texas Acres but the haven't been paved over yet. Royson blew up with Pepcon, Hooverville is landscaped and the other dozen or so towns are now housing, commerical or industrial, There is still lots of history and couple dozen ghosttowns within 25 miles of downtown Las Vegas and that knowledge doesn't need to "Stay in Vegas"

[Mikejts]

THANKS BOB, next time I go to Vegas (in March) I will take a couple days and see if I can find these spots. I usually get out of Vegas as soon as I can and head for some less populated areas.

[GaryB]

Depending on when you come, you can tag along with me and my 4X club. We specialize in historical out of town places :D


And nothing really "that taboo" happens here anymore anyway, since the Mob was replaced with the Church. Sin City is slowly turning into Snooze City. Then again, that's just my opinion.

[Johnnie]

Bob, look for us soon, hopefully around early spring in your neck of the woods. Correct us if we are wrong. The only "GHost Town" in Vegas Valley we remember was "Broard Acres" but came alive on the weekends, chuckel!! chuckel !!

Johnnie & Sheila

[Bob]

ARDEN PLASTER CAMP
A plaster mine opened in 1909 and was operated by the Arden Plaster Company until 1919 when it was sold to U.S. Gypsum. There were buildings and residents located at the base of the hill . An investigation of the mine site shows that there were actually three narrow gauge railroad lines. The eight mile line from the mine to the Arden Plaster Mill at the town of Arden, an upper line servicing the mining tunnels, and a connecting tram rail. The rail grades are still visible but the urban sprawl is fast encroaching on the mining camp and it takes a discerning eye to find building locations..

BARD
A non-agency station on the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake RR, later Union Pacific and located south of Arden. A shoo-fly RR line was constructed from Bard to Erie running through what is now Southern Highlands and up I-15 and used until the tunnel and grading of the permanent line from Bard, through Sloan to Erie was constructed. The Bard Siding was abandoned in 1945. Bard took its name from the nearby Bard Mining District. Little remains. The Bard dump is fun to investigate but other than a few cement foundation ruins, no buildings remain

BOULDER JUNCTION
Small Railroad community located between Bracken and Pierce where the Boulder City branch left the main line. The heyday for Boulder Junction was during the construction of Hoover Dam and the town became a ghost shortly around 1936. All buildings were removed by 1955 when I first visited this site. There was still evidence of some railroad structures and lots of photographic evidence can be found in Special Collections at UNLV but the site has been engulfed by business buildings and only the the siding and wye of this railroad locale remains today.

BRACKEN
A significant station on the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake RR located five miles south of Las Vegas. Bracken was a major siding until steam power was phased out in 1949. Today, Bracken has been engulfed by the Las Vegas Strip.

BRINGHURST (Los Vegas, Las Vegas)
A post office, established August 1, 1855, at Las Vegas Mission, New Mexico Territory, was
named for William Bringhurst by postal officials "because there was already one named Vegas in
New Mexico..." The Bringhurst post office was discontinued September 22, 1860 but it was already a ghost. Bringhurst as ghost town was shortlived as O. D. Gass starting and expanded a working farm/ranch and a small community of began to form around the ranch. Title of the Ranch passed to Stewart, and soon after his widow And by 1893 the ranch area had expanded enough to get a post office named "Los Vegas" as the officials didn't want to confuse patrons with the much larger Las Vegas, New Mexico. The misnomer continued until December of 1903, two year later Helen Stewart sold much of the ranch and water to the San pedro. Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad and the rest is of the story is well published history.

DIKE
A small railroad community on the Union Pacific Railroad named for the nearby Dike Mining District. The Buildings have long since disappeared and only the siding remains. Rocky road to the siding can be accessed from Old US-91 just north of the Speedway.

FORT BAKER
The fort that never was. The name was applied by Colonel James Carleton in a bulletin issued by him in December of 1861. The orders stated that a company of infantry and three of cavalry would be garrisoned at the old Mormon Fort at Bringhurst (Las Vegas) for the purpose of guarding the road from Salt Lake City to San Bernardino. Colonel Edward Dickinson Baker (1811-1861) is commemorated. However, Army records do not show any troops actually garrisoned during the Civil War. The only actual use of Fort Baker might have by an expedition of Captain George Price which passed through the Las Vegas Valley in June, 1864. It appears that Colonel Carleton's bulletin was for Southern spies as he readied California volunteers at Camp Latham (near Los Angeles) for an Arizona/New Mexico bound march to recapture territory from the Confederate Army. The “fort” was visited during the civil war by some troops traversing the Mormon Trail and the “Fort” was really O.D. Gass Ranch by that time. Portions of the “fort” can be visited at a museum just west of Cashman Complex and Minor League Stadium on the Las Vegas Blvd North.

HILLEGAS
A townsite plotted as part of a stock promotion scheme for the Frenchman Mine. The scheme was the work of Paul Watelet and C.W. Hillegas and was around a reported gold strike in 1912. The mine name commemorates Watelet, a native Belgian, who was mistakenly thought to be French. The townsite was named to honor Hillegas. Hillegas is now Winterwood Golf Course.

HOOVER CITY
A depression era tent town in present North Las Vegas. Not to be confused with Hooverville, a 1930s tent town located above the Las Vegas Wash near present-day Henderson. All evidence of Hoover City was replaced with housing and when the community of Vegas Verde (North las Vegas) began to expand around 1932.

HOOVERVILLE
A depression era tent town associated with the construction of Hoover Dam, located between the
Three Kids Mine and Las Vegas Wash. There used to be evidence of some semi-permanent foundations but the area is now the westmost entrance to Lakes of Las Vegas and is landscaped with waterfalls and other non-desert plants and shrubery. .

JERICHO HEIGHTS
A townsite was platted and lots sold along the Boulder Highway near Midway (Henderson). The
name was chosen by ranch owner, B.R. Jefferson, one of the kids of the Three Kids Mine. Today the is area has been reclaimed by housing from an expanding Henderson just east of the former community of Pittman.

JUNGLETOWN
A 1910 itinerant or hobo camp located along the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad before Tule
Springs Station. The site was near the North Las Vegas Airport and no evidence remains

LOVELL
A Ghost of a former railroad community on the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake
RR in the Las Vegas Valley. Evidence of structures is difficult to find and nothing but the siding remains.

MIDWAY (Midway City, Jericho, Pittman)
Community that developed along the road to Boulder Dam construction site in 1930. Jericho
Heights was soon platted on an adjacent ranch. Today, it is part of the City of Henderson.

NAVAJO CITY
An 1905-1908 itinerant community or tent town located east of Las Vegas. This ghost was built over by 1955 when I first sought to visit it. The best description of where it was along those springs just west of the old Hudson Dealership on Fremont Street, about the 1600 block

PIERCE
Former flag station on the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake and former siding on the Union
Pacific. Located between Bracken and Arden, west of Boulder Junction. Siding was removed in
1949. The railroad outbuildings were gone by 1955 when I first visited it. Very little evidence
remains, I live a half mile from Pierce and walk my doggie there sometimes.

ROYSON
The only siding on the Boulder City branch of the Union Pacific during the dam construction era... Royson was located near where the BMI switching area leaves the main branch line. Royson predates the BMI Plant and Henderson by ten years. This evidence of this ghost can only only found on early maps.

SAINT ANNE (St Anne, Whitney, East Las Vegas)
A 1930s tent city just east of Whitney that was active during the construction of the BMI plant in
Henderson. Saint Anne was engulfed by Whitney in the 1950s and Whitney is just Las Vegas sprawl by now. Whitney was the community on Boulder Highway just south of Bond (Now Tropicana). Saint Anne was between Whitney and the Sam Boyd Station.

SLOAN (Ehret)
A mining and railroad community along the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake RR in the south end of the Las Vegas Valley, the area, settled in 1912 and grew as the mining activity increased. Sloan was developed in 1919 when a post office, first named Ehret for the postmaster was established on May 7, 1919, re-named Sloan on Sept. 11, 1922 and continued until May 31, 1964. The community is a ghost but the mine is still very active. Interesting things can be found nearby but be careful and respectful, the mine property is actively patrolled.

TEXAS ACRES
A tent community that later included some permanent structures. It grew during the construction of Hoover Dam. TexasAcres was a prohibition-era bar, illegal casino and brothel. Disregard USGS that places Tecas Acres at Alunite (Railroad Pass) which was the first land outside the government reservation during construction of the Hoover Dam. Texas Acres was located "on the other side of the Railroad Tracks under the first trestle on the Las Vegas side of Railroad pass". The other side means the Dutchman Pass side, away from the Boulder Highway and the railroad is the Union Pacific Boulder City Branch. Nothing visible on the surface remains.

TULE SPRINGS
A station on the Las Vegas and Tonopah RR near Tule Springs Ranch operated from 1907 to
1919. Used to be able to visit the sirte and explore around but a hosuing tract now completely covers the site .

VALLEY (Valley Siding)
A small railroad community during the steam engine era and a siding on the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake. The railroad is now called the Union Pacific Railroad and only the siding remains between Lowell and Wann.

WANN (Stewart)
Another small railroad community during the steam engine era on the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake. The railroad station and siding are 5 miles north of Las Vegas. It was first called Stewart, but was renamed in honor of F. A. Wann, Traffic Manager of the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake RR. Wann became a Ghost in 1949 when the Union pacific converted to diesel and the original buildings were removed by the time I first visited in 1955. Today Wann is a major switching location for the Union Pacific.

[Bob]

I could write another 10,000 characters on several other ghost town locations immediately adjacent to the Las Vegas Valley including Alunite (Railroad Pass), Apex, Arrowlime, Bills, Camp Sibert and Camp Williston (Now within Boulder City), New Comstock, Corn Creek Sation, Erie, Fredellen, Hesse’s Camp, McKeeversville (Now within Boulder City), Quo Vadis all within 15 minutes of the valley and little remains of these original ghosts. Mikejts, if you visit, I’ll point you in the direction of far better nearby ghost communities that require a good vehicle to access, GaryB can help there.. Johnnie, Don't know if they still have those weekend swap meets at Broad Acres :)

[Mikejts]

THANKS BOB, I will be in my Rubicon so I would prefer the more remote tougher areas to go to.

I REALLY appreciate the offer.

[Maya]

THANKS BOB, I will be in my Rubicon so I would prefer the more remote tougher areas to go to.

I REALLY appreciate the offer.
Where is Bob's reply?

[Bob]

When Rocky (Mikejts) gets ready to come to town he'll drop me and Gary private messages. Depends on the snow where I might send him. Yes, I know old sites where there still cots in the horizontal adits above the mine but I ain't gonna put that out in a public forum. BTW: one such site is within the Vegas Valley drainage but you notice I didn't allude to that in my posting. Others involve patented land so you tend add cautions or property owners names (Again, you don't put that in a public forum).

[GaryB]

BTW Bob, do you use a GPS? Just wondering as I picked one up on eBay. Been finding some neat stuff of my own lately and I don't want to try and remember it all in my head ;) A miner's cabin back in the hills on Stampede Gap outside of Pioche comes to mind......


BTW, I'll try to get with you this next week. Now that I've caught up on some of my chores :D