Who was John Howell?

Hidden History Series

Nathan Harper, Preservation Archaeologist at the Springs Preserve, will present on the interesting life of one of the early settlers of the Vegas Valley, John Howell.

In 1955 the Las Vegas Valley Water District took possession of a piece of land that included a complex of flowing springs known as Big Springs or the Las Vegas Springs. The chain of title is clear from the Union Pacific Railroad to the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad, to Helen Stewart, to O.D. Gass, John Howell, J.B. Wilson, and the native peoples that came before. Many of those names are familiar to residents of the Las Vegas Valley and we see them on streets signs, schools, and parks. The name of John Howell is not as familiar. Howell came to Southern Nevada from North Carolina sometime before 1870, and was listed in the 1880 census as "mixed" ancestry. He worked as a teamster, miner, and rancher throughout Southern Nevada, married a Paiute woman, and raised children. Learn about John Howell's history from El Dorado Canyon to the Springs Preserve and the Amargosa Valley.

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