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by Sharon Schaaf First Lady of Las Vegas

by Sally Zanjani and Carrie Townley Porter

If Helen Stewart were alive today, I have no doubt that we would frequently see her name and
face in the news. She would have been involved in the building of The Smith Center and the creation of the Springs
Preserve. The Mesquite Club and Christ Church Episcopal would still count her in their active membership. And best

of all, she’d be a member of Friends of Red Rock Canyon and we could visit her as she worked as a volunteer at the
information desk in the Visitor Center. Helen would always be available to make the Las Vegas Valley a better place
for all its residents.

Helen J. Stewart literally was the First Lady of Las Vegas. She arrived at Las Vegas
Ranch in 1882 by way of Illinois, Kansas, Northern California and Pioche, Nevada.

She definitely did not relocate here by choice. Once here, she joined the only other
settlers living in the valley at the time--male ranchers and miners. Helen earned her

First Lady title. She was the valley’s first friend to the Southern Paiutes, the first lady
to offer hospitality to travelers along the Mormon Trail, the first female land owner,
the first postmistress and the first historian of Southern Nevada. She helped found

Christ Church, The Mesquite Club, and the Las Vegas School District. She did more
than women were allowed to do during her time. She did what a man typically would

have done to establish Las Vegas as a real city.

The book is full of fascinating events detailing the early growth of Las Vegas. When J. Ross Clark was buying up

land to bring the railroad southward into Las Vegas, his negotiations with Helen left no doubt in anyone’s mind that
she was smart and strong. Ten acres of her land holdings were sold to the Indian Bureau to establish a reservation for
the Paiutes. Over her lifetime she acquired a collection of 550 Indian baskets, all purchased to help her Native Ameri-

can friends. The History of Nevada, written in 1913 by Carson City journalist Sam Davis, contains a chapter written
by Helen about the early history of the Las Vegas Valley.
(continued on page 14)

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