A view of the Callville ruins at Lake Mead, Nevada. Callville is a former settlement of Clark County, Nevada. Abandoned in 1869, Callville was submerged under 400 feet (120 m) of water after the Colorado River was dammed to form Lake Mead. Callville Bay recreation area is located at the site. Located 350 miles (560 km) from Salt Lake City, Calville was situated on the west bank of the Colorado River, in what was at the time Pah-Ute County, Arizona Territory. The main road to the settlement was along the Virgin River close to St. Thomas, Nevada before heading over hills to the west. A road connected Callville with the main highway at Las Vegas. Callville was established in December 2, 1864 by Anson Call, Dr. James M. Whitmore, A. M. Cannon, Jacob Hamblin and son. It was at the time the southernmost outpost of Mormon settlement. Callville was one of seven Mormon settlements on or near the Muddy River, the others being St. Thomas, Saint Joseph, Overton, West Point, Mill Point later Simonsville and Rioville on the Colorado River above its confluence with the Virgin River. Callville became the county seat of Pah-Ute County, Arizona Territory, in December 1865, before the seat was moved on October 1, 1867 to St. Thomas.
The face of Hoover Dam as seen from the river. Part of the power plant's hydroelectric generators, as well as the canyon wall outlets and stoney gate are visible on the Nevada (left) side. The spillway tunnel is visible on the Arizona (right) side. During the years of lobbying leading up to the passage of legislation authorizing the dam in 1928, Hoover Dam was originally referred to "Boulder Dam" or as "Boulder Canyon Dam", even though the proposed site had shifted to Black Canyon. The Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928 (BCPA) never mentions a proposed name or title for the dam. When Secretary Wilbur spoke at the ceremony starting the building of the railway between Las Vegas and the dam site on September 17, 1930, he named the dam "Hoover Dam", citing a tradition of naming dams after Presidents, though none had been so honored during their terms of office. After Hoover's election defeat in 1932 and the accession of the Roosevelt administration, Secretary Ickes ordered on May 13, 1933 that the dam be referred to as "Boulder Dam". In the following years, the name "Boulder Dam" failed to fully take hold, with many Americans using both names interchangeably and map makers divided as to which name should be printed. In 1947, a bill passed both Houses of Congress unanimously restoring the name to "Hoover Dam".