By: Las Vegas Now Staff
Preserving the history of southern Nevada sometimes takes a backseat to land development. But there is one patch of land receiving added protection against the bulldozers.
Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs, in northwest Las Vegas, is today what it's been for decades — an oasis in the desert and a place to relax by the water.
To explore the area's antiquity, you would have to decide how far back you want to go. After all, signs of early man and ancient animals have been found here. But preservationists are captivated by the park's more recent timeline — connecting Las Vegas with its colorful 20th century past.
“We do know that Howard Hughes in the 50's, when he started coming out here on a regular basis, housed Terri Moore — his supposed wife or lover or girlfriend, depending on which of those two people you believe,” said park preservationist Don White.
White is a member of the Citizens Action Committee of Tule Springs, or CACTUS. He's among those with aspirations of keeping the park from becoming just another neighborhood. And CACTUS can breathe a little easier, for now. The Las Vegas City Council has added the park to the city's historic register.
“By accepting the whole 680 acres of historic park land into their historic register, that is a real viable means to protect all of those acres of the park,” said White.
Tules are aquatic plants that still flourish here. A gushing supply of fresh water made this place a popular stop for dusty travelers in the 1800's.
The water supply at Tule Springs was also a big draw for bootleggers, who set up shop there in the 1920's.
Moving ahead to the 1940's, Prosper Jacob Goumond, Or PJ, bought the land from a local sheriff. He closed on the deal on December 7, 1941. A few years later, PJ got the party started at Tule Springs.
“All of the people coming back from the war were ready to see the USA in their Chevrolet and decided it was a great idea to follow the Hollywood movement towards dude ranches. So he established a dude ranch. And because of Nevada's very liberal divorce laws, he decided it would be a great idea to play up that aspect too,” said White.
The new historic designation means that any future projects here have to be approved by the Historic Preservation Commission. So the Tules may still be here, wavering in the breeze for the next generation.
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