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Please take note of the exact cache position and replace it accordingly so that it remains in place! This is a Micro Cache, so please trade only small items and don’t forget to bring a pen to log your find.At the time of placement the cache contained: $1 WheresGeorge, a Mini Bugs Bunny Key Chain, a Pretty Geode, a Piece of Turquoise, a Lace Heart Appliqué, a Tiny Yellow Easter Chick, a Lady Bug, a Black Ant and a cache log.
Winter snows melting on Mt. Charleston and the Sheep Range bring much needed moisture to our arid landscape. But before they can reach the valley floor, these trickles and creeks disappear beneath the parched desert soil, wending their way through underground aquifers. Beginning thousands of years ago, something strange occurred. As the land fell away, the aquifers supported artesian springs that surfaced at Tule Springs and in the center of our valley. These artesian springs (Little Springs, Medium Springs and Big Springs) formed beautiful pools 20 to 30 feet deep. It is said that their flow was so powerful that it would keep a grown man suspended with his body out of the water from the waist up! Imagine standing near this site, gazing at three powerful artesian springs nourishing a vast green oasis! The springs created a fast flowing creek that wove its way across the valley and ran all the way to the Colorado River. Spanish explorers are responsible for naming the area Las Vegas, “The Meadows”. This single natural feature was responsible for the formation of Las Vegas and eventually, the Las Vegas Valley Water District.Evidence of early human habitation ranges from archaic Indians and Anasazi to nomadic Paiutes. The Paiutes’ first contact with Europeans came in 1776 when 2 Franciscan friars, Father Silvestre Escalante and Father Francisco Garces, were establishing opposing ends of the Spanish Trail. Their visit was brief and it was another 50 years before additional Paiute-European contact.In 1826-1827, famed explorer Jedediah Smith became the first Anglo-European explorer to travel through what is now Southern Nevada.Three years later a scout by the name of Rafael Rivera traveling with Mexican trader, Antonio Armijo traveled from Santa Fe on the Spanish Trail. Rafael pioneered a “shortcut” on the route by way of “The Meadows” making him the first non-Indian to set foot on what would later become Las Vegas.In 1845, John C. Fremont negotiated the now well-traveled Spanish trail. In 1855 Brigham Young sent a party of missionaries to establish a settlement at Las Vegas where they built a fort and remained until 1858 when their mission was abandoned.Word of the Comstock Lode in California brought hoards of fortune-seeking miners from all walks of life to the southwest. One of these miners was Octavius Decatur Gass. In 1865, Gass arrived in Las Vegas and built a ranch and blacksmith shop at the site of the abandoned Mormon fort. Gass and his family used water from the springs to irrigate 640 acres to cultivate grain, fruit and vegetables and raise cattle. Gass served as Justice of the Peace and Legislator of Pah-Ute County and by the mid 1870’s, Gass owned most of the homesteaded land in the area of The Meadows along with most of the water rights. In 1881 Gass found himself burdened with financial difficulties and accepted a loan from wealthy Nevada rancher Archibald Stewart, subsequently losing his ranch to foreclosure by Stewart (for greater detail of the Stewart/Gass story, visit our virtual Geocache, “Murder in the Desert” at waypoint GCACAD). In 1884, Archibald was murdered leaving his holdings to his wife, Helen J. Stewart. Helen sold nearly 2,000 acres to the railroad for $55,000 and on May 15, 1905, 1200 lots were auctioned off in the area near the present Union Plaza Hotel. These lots became the birthplace of the Las Vegas Township. The railroad organized the Las Vegas Land and Water Company and in 1952 the Union Pacific Railroad sold the Las Vegas Land and Water Company to the Water District for $2.5 million. On July 1, 1954, the Las Vegas Valley Water District began operation. Wells were drilled and left to run freely across the desert for many years. This coupled with consumer consumption brought about by the phenomenal population growth of the valley has caused the water table to drop substantially. Today, with water concerns taking center stage for our city, conservation efforts are finally being taken seriously. Focusing on conservation and the rich history and heritage of “The Meadows”, The Las Vegas Springs Preserve and Visitors Center is under construction north of this cache and is slated for opening in 2005 or 2006. The Preserve will include museums, gardens, walking paths and restored structures to tell the story of Las Vegas’ past. For more information on the history of The Meadows, you can check out the Springs Preserve web site at: www.springspreserve.org
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