Last updated: January 15, 2023
Place
Las Vegas Plaza, New Mexico
Photo/Wikipedia
Quick Facts
Location:
In central Las Vegas, bounded by Plaza, Gonzales, and Pacific streets
Significance:
The town of Las Vegas began as a Santa Fe Trail town in 1835
MANAGED BY:
The town of Las Vegas began as a Santa Fe Trail town in 1835. The town was laid out in the traditional Spanish Colonial style, with a central plaza surrounded by buildings, which could serve as fortifications in case of attack. The trail passed through the plaza and presumably many of the traders stayed here. It is thought that from the top of the flat-roofed adobe structure, between numbers 210 - 218 on the north side of the plaza, that Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny claimed the New Mexico Territory for the United States on August 15, 1846.
Site Information
Location (City of Las Vegas New Mexico)
A historical marker commemorating Kearny's visit to Las Vegas is on the plaza.