Known as the birthplace of Las Vegas, the Springs Preserve was the site of bubbling springs, a source of water for everyone from American Indians to travelers of the Old Spanish Trail to Mormons who came West.
The site was where the first non-American Indian settlers in the 1800s gathered because a gushing spring brought life-sustaining water to the surface. But, its history with man goes back further than that.
Archeological digs, beginning with an archaeological survey in 1972, proved that the area was inhabited up to 5,000 years ago. Semi-subterranean dwellings built by American Indians have been unearthed. Those pit houses date back between 800 and 1,000 years. Evidence suggests that both the Anasazi and Southern Paiutes inhabited the area at various times.
More recently, man's mark can be seen in the Little Spring House, built in 1917 and credited with sustaining the first push to create a permanent settlement. The springs used to flow all the way to downtown, where the Old Mormon Fort is located near Cashman Field.
About 400 feet farther from Little Spring House are the remnants of the Big Spring House.
Seven derricks built from the 1920s to the 1940s show man's attempts to draw water from underground. In 1955, the city stopped being so dependent on the springs and tapped into the Colorado River for its water needs.
Source: The Springs Preserve, in conjunction with the UNLV Special Collections Department, the Nevada State Museum and local historians.
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