Visitor Center for the Old Fort
Annual Meeting and Program
By CHRIS MACEK
MEMBERS MEET IN HISTORIC COURTROOM
Construction for the visitor center at The Old Fort
finally began on June 18th. With an archeologist on
hand to watch for any artifacts uncovered, excavation
for the foundation of the new building was completed
in about a week. During the excavation, several
bottles of varying ages were uncovered, as well as
several badly damaged sections of redwood water
pipe and other miscellaneous items. Although these
items were interesting, the archeologist, AJ Smith
from the Harry Reid Center for Environmental
Studies at UNLV, determined none to be of great
significance. Smith is going to clean and identify the
items and the best may be on display for visitors.
Thanks to the efforts of Nancy Deaner, manager of
the city’s Cultural Arts Division and Richard Hooker,
Senior Cultural Specialist for the Division, PACC
was able to hold its Annual Meeting and Program in
the historic United States Post Office and Courthouse
on May 14, 2004. The second story courtroom was
filled to capacity with nearly 70 members and their
guests. Representing the State Historic Preservation
Office was Terri McBride.
The next step was backfilling the excavation with
rock and gravel to provide a stable base on which to
erect the building. That was completed in early July,
then the footings were poured and construction of the
building began.
Robert Stoldal, News Director at KLAS TV 8, then
presented, “Las Vegas: The Wildest Town in Lincoln
County, 1904.” He offered historic evidence that
2004 is the actual centennial date for Las Vegas. In
addition, he presented film footage of our city in the
1920s and 50s as well as the plight of preservation in
the 1980s with the loss of the Ice House and the Las
Vegas Hospital. We thank Mr. Stoldal for his
outstanding presentation.
The project is scheduled for completion in February
2005, for the celebration of Las Vegas’ centennial
and the Old Fort’s sesquicentennial in May and June
2005. Work is also underway to design the new
exhibits for the visitor center which will be installed
once the building is substantially complete. All
members of PACC are invited to come to the Old
Fort to see a model of the building as well as to
observe the construction. We will also soon start
planning for an opening celebration in 2005 to which
PACC members will be invited.
PACC President, Corinne Escobar, opened the
meeting and presented the slate for the election of
officers.
Nominated were: Corinne Escobar,
President; Joe Thomson, Vice President; Garry
Hayes, Secretary-Treasurer; Members-at-large, Jim
Hinds, Richard Hooker, Cathie Kelly, Chris Macek
and Mark Ryzdynski. The election of the officers was
confirmed by a voice vote from the PACC members
present. Garry Hayes then presented the Preservation
Award to Senator Harry Reid for outstanding
leadership in preservation and for his role in the
transfer of the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse to the
City of Las Vegas. Don Wilson, Assistant Regional
Director from Senator Reid’s office accepted the
award.
WOODLAWN
By JOE THOMSON
Nestled among homes and businesses just north of
Downtown is one of the truly historic treasures to be
found in Las Vegas. Here you find a diverse
collection of pioneers who were responsible for the
creation of this great city. At Woodlawn you will
find people of all walks of life who share a Las Vegas
connection. Those who are familiar with Woodlawn
know it is a place to spend time with family, to
reflect and visit with those whom you have crossed
life’s paths. Anyone who has spent time at the city
owned cemetery is well aware of the challenges and
concerns involving the condition of this facility.
This investigation came about after repeated stories
of improprieties and neglect at Woodlawn surfaced
during the course of several oral history projects.
Currently, Carriage Services (which owns local
facilities under the name Bunkers Mortuary) is in the
fourth year of a ten year contract that released the
city from operational duties. Carriage Services
purchased Bunkers in February of 1999, and in
February of 2000 the city entered the contract in an
effort to save operational costs. It is not clear if the
conditions of current neglect are due to
mismanagement or a lack of funds. When asked,
current caretakers did not express that there is a lack
of funds. The overall condition is far below the
standards of any other cemetery in the Las Vegas
Valley. For example, Robert Lee Estes, who was a
United States Army veteran, died on January 28,
2003. Now, over a year later, the grass has yet to be
replaced over his gravesite.
In addition to broken, crooked, tilted and sunken
markers the grounds are in desperate need of green
(not brown) grass, trees, new paving and possibly
bathroom facilities, or at least a water fountain.
There is a long history of neglect but some problems
go far beyond physical appearance. In a city that has
difficulty finding value in its past, Woodlawn is a
situation that can no longer be ignored; it is time to
relight the dark shadows of a questionable past.
The beginning of an organized community cemetery
dates back to October 28, 1905 with the burial of
Chas Ericson, a 40-year-old man who was struck by a
train 25 miles south of Las Vegas. Erickson was
buried at the expense of what was then Lincoln
County. J. McLeod was also buried by the county
on January 12, 1906. Subsequently, the county
handled 81-recorded deaths beginning with a 12year-old boy, surnamed Michalis, who was
accidentally shot while playing with a .22 rifle.
Of those 81, 21 were shipped out of the community
to locations as far as Boston Massachusetts. The
other 60 were buried locally on the Stewart Ranch
property. By this time the purchases by the Las
Vegas Land and Water Company had reduced the
Stewart property, but they still retained a few acres
surrounding the ranch house, at the corner of Las
Vegas Boulevard and Washington. In addition, what
was left of the ranch extended across Fifth Street.
160 acres were bordered by First Street West (what is
now A Street) to Fifth Street and Washington Avenue
to Owens. It is in this area that two cemeteries
existed in addition to the Paiute cemetery that was
located at the colony, west of Main Street.
Specifically, it is probable that the first cemetery
consisting of three rows of graves totaling 55 people
was located between Main Street and Fifth Street in
the area of present day Foremaster Lane. It is
important to note that in this early period and at this
location, Owens, Washington, and Foremaster, along
with many other modern day streets, did not exist. A
second “new” cemetery bordering the east side of
Main Street was created in 1909, after the creation of
Clark County. Only five people were buried there,
two babies from the Michalis and Edwards families,
along with Pablino Del Real, A. Minks and an
individual surnamed Finney.
Prior to these
cemeteries it was common for people to be buried
where they died or in the case of the Kiel and Stewart
families, on ranch property.
The burials at the Stewart Ranch cemetery ceased in
May of 1911. The lone exception was when a man
described as “colored” was buried after being burned
by a campfire at a location 10 miles east of Las
Vegas on March 8, 1913. The year 1911 is important
as it signifies the birth of Las Vegas as an
incorporated city, and thus the inception of
Woodlawn in the present location.
A few people from the
original cemetery were
moved to Woodlawn in
1915. C.E. Gabriel, for
example,
died
of
consumption on February 24, 1909, and was
reburied on April 17,
1915. Others who were
reported as moved to
Woodlawn but were
not listed as members
of
the
original
cemetery, are Charles
Caleb Thomas, January
26, 1914; Olive Helm, 1913; and Elmer Duffin
January 14, 1910.
What is missing from this short history is a lot of
bodies. Nearly all of those laid to rest in the first two
cemeteries were left in place. That is to say that at
some point the headstones were removed and
discarded but the bodies remained. As time moved
forward the encroachment of an expanding city
threatened the sites. Eventually property development occurred over the gravesites against the objections from family members who were unable to stop
the actions of unsympathetic forces. This practice
also occurred at the Woodlawn Cemetery location.
The original Woodlawn cemetery was a ten acre
square bordered by trees and located at the southeast
corner of Fifth and present day Owens. But at that
time Owens did not exist and the trees that bordered
the cemetery lined what is now the center of Owens
and was then the border of the City of Las Vegas.
Next to these trees were burial plots that are now
under
Owens
Avenue. That’s
right, in addition
to bodies being
left behind at the
old cemeteries,
someone’s loved
ones are being
driven over on a
daily basis.
This basic lack
of respect is rather disgusting at the least. Las Vegas
has an extensive and ongoing history of abusing the
gravesites of their pioneer families. Most
communities limit this irreconcilable behavior to
abusing Native American gravesites, but the Paiutes
in Las Vegas have done well to keep looters out.
This excessive energy has left aggressive thrill
seekers to dig up the graves the Kiel family (who still
have not been reburied after over 30 years) in
addition to removing the Stewarts from their not so
final resting place.
There have been several attempts, from letter writing
to action in the courts, by many families to call
attention to their concerns, but to no avail. An effort
must be made to rectify these problems and return
these pioneers to a respectful resting place.
I offer a solution as a starting point. There should not
be any argument as to the historical significance of
this site and as such it should be able to tap into some
of the centennial excitement. Woodlawn finds itself
in a strange circumstance in the fact that it is city
owned and as such is
qualified to apply for BLM
land sale funds under the
park and trails projects.
Other community projects
have received funding
when little or no historic
artifacts remain. Woodlawn
is, and should be, a point of
pride for Las Vegas. It is
time to step forward and
reclaim a position of
significance within the
community.
From the President’s Desk…
By CORINNE ESCOBAR
Membership Dues Needed Now!
NAME ______________________________________________
Our members and their guests deserve a special thank
you for the support they gave PACC at our recent
Annual Meeting and Program in May. I appreciate
all those who took the time to introduce themselves
to me and share their ideas on preservation.
ADDRESS___________________________________________
CITY________________STATE ___________ ZIP__________
PHONE________________EMAIL_______________________
Sustaining …………………………………………………100.00
In addition to a very successful Annual Meeting our
other important accomplishments this year include
the re-institution of our quarterly newsletter and the
attention we drew to the endangered railroad cottages
that prompted the city, local organizations and
private citizens to take an interest in preserving these
last vestiges of our railroad heritage.
The Board members will meet again in September to
discuss our preservation goals for the following year.
Some of our goals will be to increase our newsletter
circulation, publish a special edition centennial
newsletter and upgrade our website. To finance these
projects, PACC applied for funding through the
Centennial Committee grants program.
The
announcement of grant recipients is still pending.
Letters to the Editor may be sent to P.O. Box 96686, Las
Vegas, NV 89193 or through the Contact Us page at our
website: www.pacc.info.
The Preservation Association of
Clark County, a nonprofit organization established in 1974 for the
preservation of Clark County’s
heritage, publishes this newsletter
quarterly.
President – Corinne Escobar
Vice President – Joe Thomson
Secretary /Treasurer-Garry Hayes
Members-at- Large
Jim Hinds
Richard Hooker
Dr. Cathie Kelly
Chris Macek
Mark Ryzdynski
Editor …………..Corinne Escobar
Contributors ……Chris Macek
Joe Thomson
Corinne Escobar
Contributing ………………………………………………. 50.00
Institutional …...................................................................... 25.00
Family …………………………………………………….. 15.00
Regular ……………………………………………………. 10.00
Senior Citizen ……………………………………………… 5.00
Send to: Preservation Association of Clark County
P.O. Box 96686 Las Vegas, NV 89193-6686
PACC needs your help!
Please take time to join or renew your membership. As a
nonprofit organization we need your support. Your dollars
go to publishing and mailing the newsletter and other
publicity and to our programs and projects. We thank all
our members who have sent in their membership
donations.
PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION
OF CLARK COUNTY
P.O. BOX 96686
LAS VEGAS, NV 89193
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED