Clark County Centennial Celebrates Our 100th Anniversary
Events Planned Throughout 2009 to Celebrate 100th Year
Clark County will kick off its 100th birthday celebrations in 2009 with two events in February. An opening reception for the Centennial will be held at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Clark County Museum, 1830 S. Boulder Highway in Henderson. The reception also will serve as the official opening of a yearlong exhibit chronicling the history of Clark County. The event is free to the public and will include entertainment, refreshments and tours of the historic homes on the museum’s Heritage Street. Commission Chairman Rory Reid and new Commissioner Steve Sisolak, who represents District A, will host the reception. The date was chosen to launch the Centennial celebration because on Feb. 5, 1909, Gov. Denver Dickerson signed the Clark County enabling legislation into law.
“The Clark County Centennial celebration is a great opportunity to share our history with all residents, old and new,” Reid said. “The unincorporated urban and rural County areas are rich with great stories of people, places and events that made our communities what they are today. We hope the Centennial will leave a legacy for generations to come.”
On Feb. 6, the Clark County Centennial committee kicks off the first in a series of roundtable discussions featuring Clark County pioneers and local historians. The discussions will take place at 6 p.m. every first Friday at the Clark County Government Center inside the Commission Chambers. The public is encouraged to attend and participate in the discussions, which will range in topics from the history of the Strip and organized crime in Clark County to the area’s colorful mining history. The discussions also will air on Clark County Television (CCTV) Cox Cable channel 4.
“As the newly-elected Commissioner for District A, I am very pleased to have the Clark County Museum in my district,” Sisolak added. “The County can be justly proud of the museum, one of the outstanding cultural facilities in Southern Nevada, and I’m pleased it will be such an important part of the upcoming celebration.”
Later in the year, Centennial celebrations will include a touring history exhibit about rural Clark County, historical programming on Clark County Televsion (CCTV, Cox Cable channel 4), the grand opening of the Candlelight Wedding Chapel and a 1910 railroad cottage at the Clark County Museum, the release of “Asphalt Memories: A Dictionary of Clark County Street Names,” a book-length publication; the placement of historical markers, a Web-based history of Clark County Commissioners, brochures, a mural at the Winchester Cultural Center and partnerships with the Clark County School District and the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District.
Clark County also has nominated the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign to the National Historic Register. The Strip is located in unincorporated Clark County and is not part of any city. The Centennial Web site also will feature historical information, events listing, trivia contest, link to a geocaching project and a section where residents can share their historical stories.
Clark County was officially formed on July 1, 1909 out of what had been Lincoln County and is named for railroad baron William Andrews Clark. The city of Las Vegas, which includes downtown and the area north of the Strip, was incorporated two years later in 1911. Those interested in additional information on Clark County’s Centennial celebrations can visit the Web site at www.accessclarkcounty.com/100 or call 455-8200.
(IF ANY OF YOU ARE ATTENDING TONIGHT, I’d love to publish some pictures. Send them in.)
