"These are sleepy days in Overton ... normal for this sleepy villa in Nevada. In this pocket of rural Clark, the air of Utah is strong here, indifferent and very protective. Here is yet another region in Nevada that if it could speak, it might go on for years. My ears are definitely open. St. Thomas. Callville. The Anasazi. Riddled sandstone. And they said Nevada was nothing but casinos. 'They' tend to talk a lot." -- March 2009

5090 N Moapa Valley Blvd (SR 169) - Moapa Valley

Las Vegas & Clark County
36.633646, -114.492474

Original Date Visited: 3/16/09
Last Confirmed: 11/16/22
Signed: No

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The location for Marker 36 leaves much to be desired, considering its varied and interesting history in the region This one would be much better placed in a more remote location rather than in front of a private residence Marker 36 plaque Marker 36 in Moapa Valley

Exact Description:
Rich in prehistoric, pueblo-type culture, and noted by the explorer Jedediah Smith in 1826, Moapa Valley is crossed by the old Spanish Trail.

In 1865 Brigham Young sent 75 families to settle the area, to grow cotton for the people of Utah, and to connect Utah with the Pacific Ocean via the Colorado River.

Located near the junction of the Muddy and Virgin Rivers, and now under Lake Mead, the "Cotton Mission" was named St. Thomas for its leader, Thomas Smith. A prosperous, self-contained agriculture was built up in the valley, which included orchards, vineyards, cotton, grains and vegetables.

The December, 1870 survey placed the valley in Nevada and because Nevada taxes were greater than those of Utah, the settlers, now including those in St. Joseph, (Old) Overton, West Point and Logandale, began leaving two months later. They left the results of seven years of labor, more than 18 miles of irrigation canal and several hundred acres of cleared land.

Other Mormons resettled the land in 1880. The area remains one of the most agriculturally productive in the state.

COVERED IN US MY 93 ROAD TRIP

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POWELL OF THE COLORADO

Related Links & Markers:

- 31 - Old Spanish Trail (1829-1850) - 84 - Jedediah Strong Smith St. Thomas Emerges (Huffington Post) St. Thomas & Lake Mead Nat'l Rec. Area (NPS) Discover Moapa Valley -

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