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May 21, 1952 Mr* Mike Calnon 126 St* Charles Rapid City, South Dakota Dear Mr. Calnon.* Referring to your letter of Hay 1A, 1952 con­cerning the water supply serving the city of Li a Vegas* i hen the Railroad was being built shortly after 1900, from Salt Lake City through Southern Nevada to Southern California, one of the essentials was water, both for use by construction gangs and later for steam locomotives. As this was an arid country, water was very scarce. The builders of the Railroad were advised by the Indians that there were two-springs that could furnish ample water for the Railroad needs at a place Called Las’Vegas, which in Spanish means "The Meadows'•. Arrangements were made to purchase the springs together with the land upon which they were located* Because of the available water supply and Las Vegas being looated approximately half-way between Los Angeles and -bait .Lake City, the Railroad decided to develop a terminal at this point and laid out a townslte for its employees. For a number of years, the two springs were ample to supply sufficient water for the Railroad and the Towns!te, out with the influx of population incident to the beginning of construction of Hoover ban, it was necessary to provide additional, water supply. As there are no rivers in the immediate vicinity, the nearest being the Colorado River, some 25 miles away, it was necessary to secure the additional supply either from springs or by drilling “wells into the underground channel. A well was drilled to a depth of 600 feet and an artesian flow of three and one-half million gallons of water per day was secured from the well, which was adequate to serve the community for a number of years. ^01 South Second St. o1, i Las Vegas, Nevada.