This is the history of Blue Diamond Village. Blue Diamond is located 26 miles southwest of Las Vegas. The village, originally known as Cottonwood Springs, changed its name when the Blue Diamond Company took ownership of the Gypsum mine and built corporate housing for the workers in the early '20s. Near the base of the Red Rock canyon, Blue Diamond Village was originally a stop on the Old Spanish Trail for traders from Santa Fe, N.M., to California between 1830 and 1848, according to the history committee's findings.
Corporate Body
JMA (Jack Miller & Associates) was established by Jack Miller (1914-1999) in 1945 and is one of the oldest architectural firms in Las Vegas. Jack Miller came to Las Vegas in 1942 to assist in the design of the Basic Magnesium Plant in Henderson. As one of only a few architects working in Las Vegas after the war, Miller was able to establish a thriving practice designing all types of buildings: schools, residences, commercial and government buildings, hospitals and the original Stardust Hotel.
Corporate Body
Alpha Kappa Alpha, Incorporated (AKA), is one of the oldest Black sororities in the United States, and was
founded on January 15, 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C. AKA is an international service
organization that comprises nearly 300,000 members in over 1,000 graduate and undergraduate chapters
worldwide.
Theta Theta Omega originally started in 1962 when six members of AKA sought to create a graduate
chapter in Las Vegas, Nevada. AKA recruited members by posting notices throughout the Clark County
Corporate Body
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Rocio Rodríguez-Martinez’s oral history is one that comes with the glimmer of emeralds, soft aroma of orchids, and the powerful scent of coffee—100% Colombian coffee, that is. Born in Bogotá, Colombia to Eustacio Rodríguez and Tulia de Rodríguez, Rocio’s story is one that takes her from pretending to be a teacher at her family store in Santa Isabel to teaching English to mothers of students in the Clark County School District [CCSD] of Las Vegas.
Person
Nevada politician and women's advocate Imogene "Jean" Young was born in Miami, Oklahoma, on December 28, 1929, to Daisy Adelphia (Flook) and Clarence Nathan Young. She had one brother, Byron Young. Her family moved to Joplin, Missouri, where she attended kindergarten through high school. In 1951 she graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas with a B.A. in Sociology. After graduation she worked as a recreational therapist for the American Red Cross in military hospitals until 1955.
Person
The Tony Costa Sheet Music and Music Scores (1936-1995) consists of printed sheet music and hand-written scores composed by entertainer, songwriter, and Las Vegas, Nevada orchestra conductor Tony Costa.
Archival Collection
The Midbar Kodesh Temple Records (approximately 1986-1995, 2005-2017) are comprised primarily of event photographs, event programs, and bulletins created and maintained by Midbar Kodesh Temple in Henderson, Nevada. The collection also includes video recordings of the synagogue's groundbreaking in 1995 from local news channels and the 1986
Archival Collection
The McNamee Family Papers (approximately 1898-2000) are comprised of family papers of early Nevada settlers, Frank (Francis) Raphael McNamee and Effie Alice Webster McNamee. It contains original family photographs and some documents such as newspaper clippings, award certificates, handwritten deeds, and correspondence about Effie and Frank McNamee Sr., and their eight children, including Frank Jr. and Leo McNamee. There are large folders of photocopied genealogy printouts from Ancestry.com regarding Frank and Effie McNamee.
Archival Collection