LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Long before Las Vegas became known for neon lights, casinos and entertainment, there were ranches.
And among the people working the land were Black Nevadans.
In 1870, John Howell was one of just five people recorded as living in the Las Vegas Valley. According to the City of Las Vegas, Howell was the first Black person known to live and own land in the valley, working as a rancher and half-owner of the 320-acre Spring Rancho. The land where Howell once raised livestock and planted fruit trees is now part of the Springs Preserve.
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His story is one of several that complicate the picture many Americans have of who settled and worked the West…