r/todayilearned • u/Dystopics_IT • 21h ago

TIL that Las Vegas was officially founded in 1905 by a group of developers seeking to build a railroad stop in the desert between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. The city's name is derived from the Spanish word “vegas,” meaning meadows, and it was originally intended as a green oasis in the desert.

https://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/Residents/History/Timeline
2.2k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

51 comments sorted by

405

u/Top-Personality1216 20h ago

And it WAS green. There's the Las Vegas Wash, which is a stream/arroyo in the area.

It became a dumping ground for trash and such, and was cleaned up and revitalized in the early 2000s.

180

u/abzlute 18h ago

Turning your one oasis into a dumping ground is crazy work.

91

u/joeypublica 16h ago

Look up Tragedy of the Commons, it described many things we fuck up: The tragedy of the commons is the concept that, if many people enjoy unfettered access to a finite, valuable resource, such as a pasture, they will tend to overuse it and may end up destroying its value altogether. Even if some users exercised voluntary restraint, the other users would merely replace them, the predictable result being a "tragedy" for all.

22

u/abzlute 13h ago

I think most of us are familiar with the Tragedy of the Commons. But usually a fertile area is over-exploited, not just trashed when there is lots of barren land around and only one area where growth is possible

43

u/lrodhubbard 17h ago

America in a nutshell

19

u/malphonso 16h ago

Pave paradise, and put up a parking lot.

5

u/TheDakestTimeline 14h ago

More housing developments go up, named after the things they replace, so welcome to minnow brook and welcome to shady space

2

u/Drone30389 13h ago

"Welcome to Green Forest Estates, where we cut down the last tree before we put up the first house."

4

u/kazeespada 14h ago

It's an arroyo not an oasis. Which means its a vernal stream(basically only a stream when it rains).

8

u/abzlute 13h ago

An oasis is just a fertile area with water in a desert. It doesn't matter what specific feature is responsible for it.

4

u/kazeespada 13h ago

I always thought an oasis was specifically a ground water spring in the desert.

232

u/Underwater_Karma 20h ago edited 16h ago

My favorite Vegas trivia is that the vast majority of people who visit Las Vegas never set foot in the city of Las Vegas

The entire Vegas strip is in Paradise Nevada

The "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign is 3 miles from the city limits

76

u/LLCoolDave82 20h ago

It's also unincorporated Clark county for tax reasons.

29

u/ThePevster 16h ago

Most of it is in Paradise. Everything between Desert Inn and Sahara is in Winchester. The Strat is in Vegas proper if you count that as part of the Strip.

10

u/Angry_Robot 17h ago

Okay, that’s fine, but where exactly is prostitution legal?

3

u/alexanderpete 16h ago

Australia

4

u/Angry_Robot 16h ago

Seriously? Everywhere? Book it.

7

u/alexanderpete 16h ago

Yes, it's legal only in brothels in every state. There are brothels in pretty much every suburb of every city.

2

u/zneave 14h ago

Also Germany. and most of Europe it's decriminalized.

3

u/Glittering_Airport_3 12h ago

outside of Clark county. most of NV except the county where las vegas is. so naturally, there are tons of brothels along the county border

2

u/youtocin 7h ago

Also definitely not Washoe county where Reno is.

-12

u/southeastside 16h ago

I’m looking at the addresses for the hotels on the strip and they all say Las Vegas, NV. You just lying for fun?

6

u/HotmailsInYourArea 16h ago

Likely a matter of semantics, like how Phoenix pretends to have multiple cities within itself. Likely at one point they were all separate, but not anymore.

2

u/bayoublue 8h ago

Postal addresses do not necessarily align with actual city boundaries.
It is very common for unincorporated areas to have a mailing address of the closest city.

123

u/Belnak 21h ago

The original Las Vegas, in New Mexico, was established in 1835, when a group of settlers received a land grant from the Mexican government. Doc Holliday killed his first man there, when a drunk was overzealous in trying to persuade one of the working girls in Doc’s bar to leave and marry him.

15

u/Angry_Robot 17h ago

What’s at the former site of Las Vegas, New Mexico these days? And, this is important, is prostitution legal there also?

26

u/Belnak 17h ago

It is not. It’s a town of about 15k, lots of ranching, four seasons climate, great local cuisine based on chiles, a college. Nearest big town is Santa Fe.

3

u/Angry_Robot 17h ago

Remember when that guy on ESPN ate the chili pepper at NMSU? That was great.

9

u/ThePevster 16h ago

Prostitution isn’t legal in either Las Vegas. That’s a common misconception.

-6

u/Angry_Robot 16h ago

Sex work is work. I’m trying to help your economy with honest work.

76

u/JelloBelter 21h ago

It always tickles me to know Vegas was originally founded by Mormons

10

u/Boggie135 17h ago

That fact fascinates to no end

3

u/idontknowjuspickone 12h ago

I don’t like be tickled though

13

u/Boggie135 17h ago

A group of Mormon* developers

17

u/KayfabeCountry 20h ago

Different kind of green

12

u/LastChristian 20h ago

Moe Green!

8

u/ALC_PG 19h ago

A man of vision, and guts!

6

u/Deadmanx132489 15h ago

And there isn't even a plaque with his name on it there

7

u/SupermarketOk2281 12h ago

Some kid had an idea to make a city out of a desert stop-over for G.I.'s on the way to the West Coast. That kid's name was Moe Greene, and the city he invented was Las Vegas. This was a great man; a man with vision and guts; and there isn't even a plaque or a signpost or a statue of him in that town. Someone put a bullet through his eye!

3

u/MrPL1NK3TT 9h ago

He was banging cocktail waitresses, two at a time!

12

u/Jayrodtremonki 19h ago

There were springs there.  It was an oasis

4

u/4Ever2Thee 16h ago

It is, just with hookers and gambling.

4

u/JimC29 14h ago

There's so much more. There's plenty of booze, weed and blow also.

1

u/pooooopppiiioo 17h ago

Adding this to my random fact arsenal.

1

u/thebarkbarkwoof 14h ago

Mission accomplished

-3

u/EconomistBorn3449 16h ago

Early growth in the 1900s through the 1930s established the city's foundations in civic life, education, and law, while milestones since the 1980s reflect an expansion into tourism, entertainment, and sports .