Arden, Nevada Explained

Official Name:Arden
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:Nevada
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Nevada
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Clark
Established Title:Founded
Named For:Arden
Timezone:PST
Utc Offset:-8
Timezone Dst:PDT
Utc Offset Dst:-7
Elevation Footnotes:[1]
Elevation Ft:2484
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:89118
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:838496

Arden, Nevada was an unincorporated community in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The area is now part of the town of Enterprise.[2] Located about 7miles southwest of Las Vegas, the area is experiencing rapid growth in housing development on land formerly owned by the Bureau of Land Management.

History

The San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (later part of the Union Pacific Railroad) began operating through the area in 1905.[3] The railroad's Arden station, located about south of Las Vegas, was named for Arden, the New York estate of E. H. Harriman, the railroad's co-owner.[4] [5] By 1906, Arden was serving as a shipping point for the Potosi mine.[6] [7]

The Arden post office was established in 1907.[8] Around that time, William K. Moore, who has been credited as Arden's founder, discovered gypsum deposits in the nearby mountains.[9] With financing from Southern California businessmen, Moore started the Arden Plaster Company, which opened a mill at the site in 1908.[10] It was reported to be the second largest gypsum plant in the country. A narrow-gauge railroad was constructed to connect the plant to the gypsum mine, away.[11]

The plaster plant burned down in 1912, but was quickly rebuilt.[12] [13] In 1919, it was purchased by the United States Gypsum Company.[14] The plant was closed and dismantled in 1930 due to a decline in the construction industry.[15]

A railroad spur line was built in 1925 to connect Arden to the Blue Diamond Mine, to the northwest.[16]

A gravel pit was established at Arden in the mid-1950s, and operated until 1978, growing to in size.[17] A commercial operation has since resumed operations at the site.

Clark County built a fallout shelter at Arden in the 1950s or 1960s to house regional government leaders in case of an attack on Las Vegas.[18] [19] The shelter was maintained at least until the 1980s.

On April 21, 1958, United Airlines Flight 736, a Douglas DC-7 passenger aircraft with 47 aboard. crashed onto then-empty desert two miles SE of Arden after a mid-air collision with a United States Air Force F-100 jet fighter flown by two pilots.[20] [21] [22] [23] All 49 aboard the two aircraft were killed.

The Arden post office was closed in 1971.[24] In 1981, Arden was reported to have around 40 residents.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: US Board on Geographic Names. 2008-01-31. United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25.
  2. Web site: Map of Unincorporated Towns. Clark County. 2018-06-04.
  3. Book: Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California: The Southern Roads. David F. Myrick. Howell-North Books. 1963. 647. 9780874171945.
  4. News: Former township steeped in history of Union Pacific Railroad. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Nolan Listerview. August 6, 2012. 2018-06-04.
  5. Book: Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California: The Southern Roads. David F. Myrick. Howell-North Books. 1963. 760. On the other hand, there is possible evidence of an affiliated Harriman influence in the designation of certain of the station names. One of these, an original small station twelve miles south of Las Vegas, was called Arden, possibly in honor of Harriman's luxurious estate in New York..
  6. News: Schwab buys the old Potosi. Reno Gazette-Journal. January 9, 1906. Newspapers.com.
  7. News: Arden. Las Vegas Age. April 14, 1906. 6. Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. 2018-06-04.
  8. Book: Nevada Place Names: A Geographic Dictionary. Helen S. Carlson. 1974. University of Nevada Press. 40. 9780874170948.
  9. News: Gypsum strike built tiny Arden. Las Vegas Review-Journal. May 10, 1981. 6J. Katherine Sheehey.
  10. News: Immense plant. Las Vegas Age. January 18, 1908. 1. Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. 2018-06-04.
  11. News: The Arden Plaster Company. Salt Lake Mining Review. February 15, 1908. Newspapers.com.
  12. News: Big plaster mills burned at Arden. Reno Evening Gazette. May 10, 1912. Newspapers.com.
  13. News: Arden plaster mill. Las Vegas Age. June 1, 1912. Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. 2018-06-04.
  14. News: Mine, mill, and general construction news. Salt Lake Mining Review. August 15, 1919. Newspapers.com.
  15. News: Bureau of Mines reports gypsum output less. Reno Evening Gazette. March 24, 1931. Newspapers.com.
  16. Book: Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California: The Southern Roads. David F. Myrick. Howell-North Books. 1963. 761.
  17. News: BLM closes Arden sand, gravel pit. Las Vegas Review-Journal. May 26, 1978. 15A.
  18. News: Take a tour of a quaint Cold War relic, the bunker. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Henry Brean. July 14, 2013. 2018-06-04.
  19. News: Arden bunker serves as disaster command center. Las Vegas Review-Journal. May 31, 1981. Dale Pugh. 1B.
  20. News: Sky Fire, Metal Rain; Forty years ago today, a jet fighter and a commercial airliner collided northeast of Las Vegas, killing 49.. https://web.archive.org/web/20041031102825/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/1998/Apr-21-Tue-1998/news/7353003.html. October 31, 2004. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Warren. Bates. April 21, 1998. . dead.
  21. News: Memorial sought to mark site of 1958 Las Vegas air crash. Nevada Appeal. April 21, 2018. . https://web.archive.org/web/20210620160524/https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2008/apr/21/memorial-sought-to-mark-site-of-1958-las-vegas-air/. June 20, 2021. live.
  22. News: Fatal Las Vegas crash in 1958 led to modern air safety system. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Brean, Henry. April 20, 2018. . https://web.archive.org/web/20180421125831/https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/fatal-las-vegas-crash-in-1958-led-to-modern-air-safety-system/. April 21, 2018. live.
  23. News: Las Vegas' Deadliest Air Disaster. Las Vegas Review-Journal. April 20, 2018. . – (55 sec. video)
  24. Book: Nevada Post Offices: An Illustrated History. James Gamett. Stanley W. Paher. Nevada Publications. 1983. 35.

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