Page 14 - winter 2020

14 Friends oF red rock canyon

Photos - Spring Mountain Ranch S.P. Archives

By Joshua Yelle

ust south of the Red Rock Canyon National In 1955 the ranch was sold to German Baroness
JConservation Area’s Visitor Center and and film actress, Vera Krupp. Vera left a billion-
Scenic Loop Drive lies a hidden lush emerald gem aire’s lifestyle in Essen, Germany to run a cattle
nestled against the stunning crimson Aztec sand- property in the dusty hills of the Red Rock escarp-
stone cliffs, Spring Mountain Ranch State Park. ment. Vera’s love for the country lifestyle and Red
Originally named Sandstone Ranch, it is one of the Rock Canyon led to a happy life here. She sold
first ranches in the Las Vegas area. Homesteaded the property to the Howard Hughes Tool Corpo-
by Civil War veteran James Wilson in 1876, we ration in 1967; they owned it until 1972 when it
are now home to some of the oldest buildings still was sold to Fletcher Jones and William Murphy.
standing in Nevada, namely our sandstone black- These two men planned on turning the area into a
smith shop and cabin. high density housing community but were stopped
when the Clark County Commission denied their
Volunteers dedicated to the preservation of Red Rock Canyon
The Wilson era ended in 1929 when a Holly- request for rezoning. In 1974, the State of Nevada
wood furrier, Willard George, purchased the ranch purchased the ranch and we have been a state park
and became our first absentee owner, leaving the ever since.
care of the ranch in the hands of the adopted sons
of James Wilson — Jim Jr. and George ‘Tweed’ On any given day, visitors can expect to be
Wilson. When Willard’s family outgrew the ranch, greeted by some of the most beautiful scenery that
it was sold to radio star and film actor Chester Nevada has to offer. The reds and browns of the
‘Chet’ Lauck. escarpment give way to threads of green that are
Chet, famous evidence of the most important desert resource,
from his water. Our abundance of water is what gives sev-
radio pro- eral unique features to the park.
gram ‘Lum
and Abner’ Spring Mountain Ranch State Park is home to
purchased the only body of water in Red Rock Canyon, Lake
the property Harriet. This reservoir,
in 1948 and built by Chet Lauck for
turned it into irrigation and recreation,
the ranch we is a special treat for
see today. He visitors and wildlife alike
built some of its most defining features, including with mallard ducks and
a ranch house that became our Visitor Center and grebes swimming through
Lake Harriet. the reeds as red tail
hawks soar on the thermals rising off the desert.

the Rock - Volume 10 Issue 2