Visiting Clark County Museum great way to observe centennial

Clark County marks its 100th birthday with special observations and programs throughout this year with emphasis on its colorful past and a century of phenomenal changes. Clark County presents special historical exhibits at the Clark County Museum and the county government center. Nearly a dozen roundtable history panel discussions appear on the county's television channel. The Review-Journal has featured historical photos and print material from county archives. Special events dot the county's 2009 calendar.

Part of Arizona until 1867, the present county started out as part of Lincoln County with the seat of county business in Pioche, nearly 200 miles from Las Vegas. Within a short time after Las Vegas became a town in 1905 with the sale of lots in the original town site, pressure began to build for a new county.

Searchlight, then a thriving mining town, vied with the fledgling Las Vegas to be named as its county seat, an honor awarded to Las Vegas that ensured income and prestige. The Nevada Legislature obliged by creating a new county to be named for Montana Sen. William A. Clark of the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City Railroad, now the Union Pacific. Gov. Denver Dickerson signed the bill into law in February 1909. Although its territory was large enough to encompass several New England states, Clark County's population numbered only 3,300 people in the U.S. census the following year.

For those interested in the history of Southern Nevada, the Clark County Museum's exhibit center presents a time line of history for the area. This year, the time line ends with a special centennial exhibit demonstrating just how much Clark County has grown and changed over the past century. Nobody foresaw the county's explosive growth in 1909.

Reach the museum from U.S. 95/515 using either Horizon Drive and turning south on Boulder Highway or Wagonwheel Drive and turning north. Follow a short spur to a paved, landscaped parking area. The museum remains open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Entrance costs $1.50 for adults and $1 for children and seniors. For information on upcoming programs, call 455-7955.

Occupying 25 acres adjacent to the Boulder Highway in Henderson, the museum contains indoor and outdoor displays. Follow a path through desert trees and cactus now in bloom from the parking lot to the Pueblo-style main building, which houses a museum store and bookshop, the exhibit room, offices, and storage and work areas.

While tracing regional history from prehistory to modern times, visitors find themselves absorbed by the artifacts and stories contained within the exhibits. They know what the animals living here were like before the area became a desert. They note that humans have been living here for more than 12,000 years, adapting to the land as it became more arid. They learn about cultures that predated our town and Native Americans still resident in the county who retain their unique cultural heritage.

Clark County's colorful beginnings come to life with exhibits on settlements, ranching, mining, railroading, steamboating and highway construction. Visitors experience how early residents lived. They follow the time line through events that shaped Clark County, such as the building of Hoover Dam, the legalization of gambling, the ease of getting married and divorced in Nevada, the growth of military facilities, the arrival of the air age and the testing of atomic bombs.

Exhibits outside amplify the indoor exhibits. On pleasant Heritage Street, renovated and restored homes and businesses from critical periods find safe haven, inviting visitors to explore rooms in period style. Nearby, tour the small railroad yard with the original Boulder City Depot and several train cars from the dam-building days. A vintage steam locomotive occupies a section of track in front of the main building near a festival area.

A self-guiding trail takes visitors through the facility's desert acreage past old mining equipment, a small ghost town replica and a re-created Paiute village. Along the extended nature trail, visitors observe desert plants now in bloom.

Margo Bartlett Pesek's column appears Sundays.