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Las Vegas Land & Water Company Records from the Las Vegas Valley Water District (MS-00912)

Abstract

The Las Vegas Land & Water Company Records from the Las Vegas Valley Water District (1918-1989) are primarily comprised of contracts, correspondence, and maps that document the establishment of a water distribution system in Las Vegas, Nevada that would provide water using the state's Colorado River allocation. The records include water main extension agreements, correspondence, and bills of sale for water main construction, as well as articles and correspondence documenting the groundwater shortage in Las Vegas. The collection also includes maps for water distribution systems and pipelines throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

Finding Aid PDF

Date

1918 to 1989

Extent

6.31 Cubic Feet (4 boxes, 13 rolls)
5.8 Linear Feet

Related People/Corporations

Scope and Contents Note

Las Vegas Land & Water Company Records from the Las Vegas Valley Water District (1918-1989) are primarily comprised of contracts, correspondence, and maps that document the establishment of a water distribution system in Las Vegas, Nevada that would provide water using the state's Colorado River allocation. The records include water main extension agreements, correspondence, and bills of sale for water main construction as well as articles and correspondence documenting the groundwater shortage in Las Vegas. The collection also includes maps for water distribution systems and pipelines throughout the Las Vegas Valley including the original townsite distribution system.

Access Note

Collection is open for research. Portions of this collection are digital and available online.

Publication Rights

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.

Arrangement

Materials remain as they were received.

Biographical / Historical Note

The Las Vegas Land & Water Company was created by the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad Company to operate the first water distribution system in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1905. The San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad was eventually sold to the Union Pacific Railroad in 1921. In the mid-1940s Las Vegas was recognized a future groundwater shortage so the Nevada Legislature created the Las Vegas Valley Water District in 1947 to use the state's Colorado River allocation and rely less on groundwater. In 1952, the Union Pacific Railroad officially sold the Las Vegas Land & Water Company to the Las Vegas Valley Water District. With that sale the Union Pacific Railroad and the Las Vegas Land & Water Company turned over all water distribution properties to the Las Vegas Water Valley District. The Las Vegas Valley Water District officially began operating independently on July 1, 1954.

Sources:

"Nevada." Colorado River Water Users Association. Accessed March 22, 2019. https://www.crwua.org/colorado-river/member-states/nevada.

"Walter Bracken and the Las Vegas Land and Water Co.," accessed July 26, 2018. http://

digital.library.unlv.edu/collections/historic-landscape/walter-bracken-and-las-vegas-land-water-company

Preferred Citation

Las Vegas Land & Water Company Records from the Las Vegas Valley Water District, 1918-1989. MS-00912. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Acquisition Note

Materials were donated in 2019 by the Las Vegas Valley Water District; accession number 2019-009.

Processing Note

Rough box-level summaries were created during accessioning and loose papers were foldered by Tammi Kim in 2019. Rolled maps were housed in archival boxes. In 2021, Sarah Jones further processed the collection and updated the inventory in ArchivesSpace.

Resource Type

Records

Collection Type

EAD ID

US::NVLN::MS00912

Finding Aid Description Rules

Describing Archives: A Content Standard
English