From the Nye County, Nevada Photograph Collection (PH-00221) -- Series VII. Other areas in Nye County -- Subseries VII.D. Hanson Family (Gabbs, Nevada). A close up of two structures shown in pho005682 in Basic Magnesium’s camp.
"Air view, east, metal producing plant, with trailer camp and construction boarding camp in background. McNeil Construction Co. Magnesium Plant. Las Vegas, Nevada. 9-8-42. 1118." Basic Magnesium Inc. manufacturing plants were built in an unincorporated area southeast of Las Vegas. That area is now Henderson, Nevada.
Essay by Roosevelt Fitzgerald focusing on demographic changes in southern Nevada from 1940-1945 and the war industry's effect on black employment, particularly the impact of Basic Magnesium, dated 1982.
The Ernest Clary Papers on Basic Magnesium, Inc. Engineering Plans (1941-1944) contain an essay written by Clary formalizing the engineering process in building Basic Magnesium, Inc. (BMI). Also included are maps of the area around the plant and site maps of the main BMI structures.
Oral history interview with Paul Norton conducted by Sergio Pellegrino on April 3, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project.
In this interview, Paul Norton discusses his life in Henderson, Nevada and Las Vegas, Nevada from 1952 onward. He shares details of his work at Basic Magnesium Inc. (BMI) and at mills around the Valley. Norton talks about his opposition of the MX missile, in contrast to his opinions about atomic testing in Nevada. He also discusses the businesses that operated from 1950 to 1980, how the Las Vegas Strip was constructed, details of Fremont Street and the I-15 freeway, and flooding that was particularly destructive in Henderson.
Oral history interview with Avril "Juanita" Simmons and Fred "Bubba" Simmons conducted by Claytee D. White on May 21, 1996 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection.
In this interview, husband and wife Bubba and Juanita Simmons talk about their separate moves from Fordyce, Arkansas to Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1940s and their impressions of the city after moving. Bubba shares stories of his employment at the Basic Magnesium, Inc. plant in Henderson and his experiences living in tents on the Westside, traveling to work with the help of Red Mitchell, and sharing living spaces with nine to ten other men. Juanita discusses her work as a family's caregiver and speaks to the kinds of occupations Black women obtained in Las Vegas at that time. The couple share stories of city life and the clubs, eateries, and shops that were present in the area.