Las Vegans interested in local history, please read this.

[enlightenment]

I don't know how many Las Vegas residents hang around the boards, but I'd like to ask you to consider attending the North Las Vegas city council special session on Wednesday, July 19th, 4:30 pm at 2200 Civic Center Blvd, NLV.

The session is open to the public, of course, and will focus on the disposition of the Kiel Ranch. Those of you who live here may know the story of the Kiels' -- the brothers who presumably murdered (or arranged the murder) of Archibald Stewart, husband of LV's "first lady" Helen Stewart, in the 1880s. In 1900, the brothers were found on their ranch, both dead from gunshot wounds; an inquest ruled it a murder/suicide and the bodies were buried. In 1976, the remains were exhumed and examined by a forensic anthropologist at UNLV; she determined that it wasn't murder/suicide, but murder. The case has never been solved.

That same year, 1976, the city took control of the ranch, which over the years had transferred hands a number of times, serving in not only its original function, but also as a divorce ranch and dude ranch. Because of the properties long and storied history and the presence of an adobe structure that was there when the Kiel's homesteaded the land (which makes the adobe the oldest surviving structure in Nevada), the site has considerable historical significance.

The city of North Las Vegas was supposed to take care of the property and turn it into a historic park -- they even had money to do it with. They have failed, abysmally -- the grounds are closed off, littered with trash and debris (the city has even used it as a dump spot for old fill dirt), and the adobe is on the verge of complete collapse. Efforts to force the city to do their job have failed -- they even turned down 2.4 million dollars, offered by the Parks Service, to restore the ranch. Clearly, they want it to go under so they can make it go away and profit from the property.

This special session may be the last hope for the ranch -- the more people who show up in support, the better the chances will be that the council will be convinced to do what they pledged to do 30 years ago.

Las Vegas does have a history unconnected to the casinos and the strip, and it's a pretty interesting history. Please, if you have the time, help us preserve the little we have left of that time before the neon.

Thanks,
enlightenment
PS -- here are links to a couple of George Knapp investigative reports:

"Kiel Ranch: An Historic Disgrace in North Las Vegas"
http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4926418&nav=menu102_1_4_1

"I-Team Revisits Garbage at Historic Kiel Ranch"
http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5081652&nav=menu102_1_4_1

a picture of the adobe building: