Visitor's center at Mormon Fort delayed

About 144 years after the first Mormon settlers left Las Vegas in disappointment, the Old Mormon Fort faces yet another setback.

A planned visitor's center on the site where the first non-Indian settlement was established in Southern Nevada has been delayed, and construction won't begin for at least three more years.

A tight state budget and the need for more time for architectural work were behind the delay, said Wayne Perock, administrator for the Nevada Division of State Parks.

The state Public Works Board, meeting in Las Vegas on Tuesday, voted to delay the $1.7 million project for two more years.

"Part of the concern is that it is a historic site. There is concern that construction will begin and they will find some old bones or artifacts on the site. That would increase the cost of the project," said Eric Raecke, manager of the Public Works Board.

The board makes public works recommendations to the governor and the Legislature.

The visitor's center will likely be constructed near the southeast corner of the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue in early 2002, Chris Macek, the park interpreter, said.

"I'm a little disappointed that the visitor's center is being delayed. We'd hoped it would be done sometime next year," he said.

The park now consists of a building that is 60-by-12 feet, which has some displays from pioneer days. One wall of the adobe building dates back to the time of the Mormons.

"Right now, there aren't a lot of visitors -- maybe 4,500 a year. Some Mormons come to look at the site," Macek said. "This could become a tourist attraction with the creation of a visitor's center."

The visitor's center will be 5,400 square feet and include a variety of displays of what pioneer life was like in the 1850s and information on why the Mormons settled in Las Vegas.

Though the parks division is preparing for discovery of artifacts once construction begins, Steve Weaver, chief of planning and development for Nevada State Parks, said it is unlikely that any major ones will be found.

"We've already spent $500,000 conducting an archaeological study of the site," he said. "We know where all the original foundations for the buildings are. I don't believe we will find any major surprises."

In addition to the visitor's center, the state is planning to build an artificial creek that will resemble one that was there when the original settlers came. Water will be pumped into the faux stream and then recirculated.

"The fort was established for two main reasons," Macek said. "One reason was to try to convert area Indians to the Mormon religion, and the other was to serve as a way station for travelers moving through the area."

Between 30 and 100 settlers lived at the fort during the two years it operated. The pioneers left in part because they found the Las Vegas Valley too harsh a climate for year-round habitation, Macek said.

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