Rockwell, Leon, 1888-1968

Early Las Vegas, Nevada resident Leon Halliday Rockwell was born in Elmira, New York on February 8, 1888 to William H. Rockwell and Charlotte Amanda Breese. He received a grammar school education, but began working at an early age due to the death of his father. He worked a variety of jobs across the country, including railroad laborer, cowboy, and milk-hand. Leon Rockwell and his brother Earl Rockwell moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1906 to join their other brother, Ronald Floyd Rockwell. Leon and Earl Rockwell constructed the first airfield in Clark County, Nevada and leased it to Western Air Express in 1920, which opened the city to air transportation.

Rockwell worked for Consolidated Power and Telephone, later known as Nevada Energy, before opening his own business, Rockwell Electric Shop. He was a founding member of the Las Vegas Volunteer Fire Department, engaged in real estate trading, and was co-owner of a clothing store. He was also member of the Indian Collectors Association and an active member of the Elks. Rockwell married Bessie Marguerite Banfield in Chemung, New York on September 12, 1916, and they had two children together, Marjorie Riley and Leon Horton Rockwell, also known as Leon Jr. Bessie Rockwell died in Los Angeles, California on March 27, 1962. Rockwell remarried Elma Alexandria Erickson on January 21, 1968. He died in Las Vegas on September 1, 1968.

Source:

Glass, Mary Ellen. Leon H. Rockwell: Recollections of a Life in Las Vegas, Nevada, 1906-1968. University of Nevada Oral History Project.