Earl Rockwell was born on August 17, 1892 in Elmira, New York and in 1906 moved to Las Vegas, Nevada with his brother, Leon Rockwell. The two brothers helped to found the Las Vegas Volunteer Fire Department and became prominent citizens of early Las Vegas. The Rockwell brothers also constructed one of the first airfields in Las Vegas, and leased it to Western Air Express in 1920 which opened the city to aircraft. Later in life, both Earl and Leon Rockwell were involved in real estate ventures in the greater Las Vegas area. Earl Rockwell died in 1980.