Henderson was once home to the Three Kids Mine, a source of manganese for the military-industrial complex during both World Wars and later during the Korean War. The durability of manganese made it a desirable ingredient for metal alloys. But the manganese vein was played out by 1961, and both the mine and its custom-built mill were dismantled in 1962.
"There was also some mining of a few other non-precious minerals," says Las Vegas historian par excellence Eugene Moehring, "but they were relatively small operations."
As for precious stones and base minerals enshrined in Henderson street names, they include Amethyst Avenue, Blue Crystal Creek Road, Blue Topaz Lane, Broken Shale Circle, Bronze Patina Street, Coal Valley Drive, Cobalt Sky Avenue, Crater Rock Street, Diamond Crest Lane, Diamond Drive, Diamond Valley Street, Diamondville Street (and we’ve certainly never heard of any big diamond strikes in Henderson), Emerald Circle, Emerald Crest Street, Emerald Dunes Circle, Emerald Idol Place, Emerald Moon Way, Emerald Mountain Avenue, Emerald Peak Avenue, Emerald Wind Street, Gold Street, Goldcreek Street, Golden Bay Court, Golden Bear Court, Golden Crown Avenue, Golden Gardens Court, Golden Plata Court, Golden Ridge Court, Golden Sedum Drive, Golden Shadow Drive, Golden Spear Place, Golden Spike Court, Golden Splendor Court, Golden Valley Drive, Golden View Street, Goldfire Circlem and Goldhill Road.
Not to mention … Hills of Gold Court, Ilmenite Way, Iolite Court, Iron Canyon Drive, Iron Street, Ironbark Drive, Ironwood Hills Street, Jade Circle, Jade Sky Street, Jewelstone Circle, Lead Street, Leadville Meadows Drive, Leadville Road, Lime Circle, Magnesium Street, Manganese Street, Nickel Street, Perlite Street, Platinum Street, Quartz Canyon Drive, Quartz Rock Way, Rhyolite Terrace, Rubellite Street, Ruby Lane, Ruby Ridge Avenue, Ruby Sky Court, Rutile Way, Sapphire Desert Drive, Sapphire Peak Lane, Sapphire Sky Court, Sapphire Valley Avenue, Silica Sand Street, Silver Beach Drive, Silver Blossom Lane, Silver Bullet Court, Silver Canyon Boulevard, Silver Crew Pass, Silver Maple Lane, Silver Reef Court, Silver Retreat Court, Silver Slipper Avenue, Silver Springs Parkway, Silver Star Street, Silver Stirrup Court, Silver Street, Silver Sunrise Lane, Silver Sunset Drive, Silver Swan Court, Silver Wind Avenue, Silver Wolf Drive, Silvergate Place, Silverton Drive, Topaz Avenue, Turquoise Springs Street, Zinc Street, and let us not forget Zirconium Way.
If we’ve left off any Henderson Streets that also show up on the Periodic Table of the Elements, drop us a line and we’ll update the list.
