North Las Vegas Bicentennial Committee Photographs and Drawings of Kiel Ranch (PH-00005)

Kiel Ranch (or Kyle Ranch) was established in 1875 by Conrad Kiel in what is now North Las Vegas, Nevada. The ranch is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is administered by the North Las Vegas Neighborhood and Leisure Services Department. It is one of the earliest non-indigenous settlement sites in the Las Vegas Valley and contains the oldest standing building in Las Vegas, an adobe structure from the 1880s. The ranch gained notoriety from two violent incidents: the death of pioneer Archibald Stewart in a gunfight in 1884 and the double murder of Ed and William Kiel in 1900.

As the United States was preparing to celebrate its national bicentennial in the 1970s, the city of North Las Vegas decided its bicentennial project would be the restoration of Kiel Ranch. The project was led by the North Las Vegas Bicentennial Committee and received $27,000 from the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. By 1976, the project was far from completion, though some restoration had taken place and a time capsule had been placed on the site to be opened in one hundred years. The original goal of the project was to create a historic park centered on Kiel Ranch. However, shortly after 1976, North Las Vegas City Council members suggested selling parts of Kiel Ranch to pay for other city projects. After 1976, the North Las Vegas Bicentennial Committee was disbanded, but the Advisory Board for Kiel Ranch was created to continue the work of the bicentennial committee, which it did from 1978 to 1995. The project is currently managed by the North Las Vegas Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.

By 1988, the city of North Las Vegas sold 22 of the original 27 acres of Kiel Ranch. In 1992, Kiel Ranch suffered another blow when the main building caught fire and was destroyed. Today only two significant structures remain on the property. As of 2015, the city of North Las Vegas owns seven acres of the original Kiel Ranch. According to the city, the seven acres will be made into a park.

Sources:

Wilbur E. Wieprecht, "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form," National Park Service, September 9 1975. http://focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/75001107.pdf

"Kiel Ranch Historic Park," City of North Las Vegas, accessed July 20, 2015. https://www.cityofnorthlasvegas.com/Departments/ParksAndRecreation/KielRanchHistoricPark.shtm