Question of the Day - 22 April 2021

Way back when Huntington Press and the Las Vegas Review-Journal had a joint publishing venture going, we collaborated on a book called The First 100 -- Portraits of the Men and Women Who Shaped Las Vegas. It's a collection of biographies of the top 100 most influential Las Vegans, from the explorers and builders to the gamblers and 14-karat characters who transformed Las Vegas from a desert waterhole into the extraordinary city it is today. If you like Las Vegas history and haven't seen this book, it's on sale for $5, plus shipping, and well worth the giveaway price.

Naturally, we had to shrink the "first 100," which fills a book. We came up with -- you probably won't be surprised -- the top ten. Of course, it's a completely subjective list based on our own reading of Las Vegas' colorful past and we have no doubt that we'll be taken to task all over the place for our choices. Have at it! Let us and everyone know who you consider the top ten. 

Today, we'll cover the first two. We've organized the 10 in chronological order.

Helen Stewart 

We've written a two-part bio of the "First Lady of Las Vegas"; here's the thumbnail.

A true exemplar of pioneer spirit, Helen Stewart in 1882 moved to what is now North Las Vegas and took up ranching with her husband Archibald, who gained a 1,000-acre ranch when the homesteader, O.D. Gass, defaulted on his loan. Shortly thereafter, Helen was widowed at the tender age of 29 when Archibald was shot and killed by a hand at a neighboring ranch. Despite having four children to raise, with a fifth on its way (she married at 19), Helen persevered with the help of her parents, who moved down from Sacramento.

Foreseeing the railroad coming through the Las Vegas valley, she began buying up strategic parcels of land and established a campground for travelers and miners with water, shade, and food, thus becoming Las Vegas’ first "hotelier." She also befriended the native Paiutes.

When the railroad arrived, Helen sold her acreage to magnate William Clark for the then-princely sum of $55,000. This allowed her to live out her life comfortably with her second husband. She hung onto some of her land, 10 acres of which were deeded to the Paiute in 1912, affording them a modicum of dignity and security amidst a valley that had formerly been theirs. While the Paiute had to live without running water and electricity until 1962, the terms of Mrs. Stewart’s deed thwarted efforts by the City of Las Vegas to turf out its first inhabitants.

C.P. Squires

Known to some as the “Father of Las Vegas,” Charles “Pop” Squires arrived in what is presently downtown Las Vegas in 1904 and found nothing but dust and tents. He set about establishing a bank and, with the rest of his $25,000 grubstake, erected a hotel, a lumber yard, and a real-estate company. When electricity and telephone service came to Las Vegas, Squires was one of the first customers. Not content with all of those accomplishments, he founded the city’s first newspaper, the Las Vegas Age. This gave him a platform from which to start lobbying for what would eventually become Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam), a source of power and water without which modern-day Vegas would be inconceivable.

The development of Las Vegas into an international destination was an improbable dream, but Squires lived to see its fruition; Las Vegas was booming at the time of his passing at the ripe old age of 93 in 1958.

An elementary school in North Las Vegas bears his name. No disrespect to the kids, but we think Pop Squires deserves more recognition than that.