Silver Tailings: Old Spanish Trail

Mail service was begun between Salt Lake City and San Bernardino in 1852. This led to stations being built at natural springs along the ‘Old Spanish Trail’ where fodder for horses grew without cultivation.

One of these was built-in meadows about 55 miles away from the nearest neighbor to its northeast, which was one of the longest stretches between stations.

In 1855, Mormon settlers arrived at the distant station and planted a settlement. They cultivated about 500 acres of farmland.

When the Mormons anticipated battle with the US Army in 1857, the settlers abandoned their development and returned to Utah. Not long after the Mormon departure, Octavius Decatur Gass moved to the station and expanded the farmland under cultivation.

He sold fruits, vegetables, and beef to miners on the Colorado River and in the Potosi Mountains. Gass preserved the common name by which the area was already known.

He called his little place, “Las Vegas Rancho.”