Mormon Fort marks 157th birthday with celebration

Las Vegans will celebrate the 157th anniversary of the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort with festivities Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m.

The fort, the first permanent non-native settlement in Southern Nevada, is adjacent to Cashman Field on Washington Avenue, just off Las Vegas Boulevard North.

The event begins with a pancake breakfast priced at $5 per person or $15 per family. There will be games, demonstrations and re-enactments of historical characters and activities by Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Friends of the Fort, Soldiers of the Fort and the Old Spanish Trail Association.

Proceeds support Friends of the Fort activities.

In 1855, 30 Mormon missionaries built the fort and mission at the Las Vegas Meadow. Missionaries arrived June 14, 1855, to begin the first permanent settlement, which included corrals, gardens, workshops, fields and orchards.