Henderson community information, real estate

Henderson is one of the younger cities of the modern dynamic Southwest, located in the southern tip of Nevada. It is situated on level, desert terrain, midway between Boulder City and Las Vegas at an elevation of 1940 feet. The city, as it now exists, includes the two original townsites of Basic and Pittman, plus its annexations. Of these, Pittman is the oldest having been first settled in 1929, while Basic Townsite was settled in 1941, with the annexations all being post-war additions.

The settlement of Pittman dates back to the days of the Boulder Dam construction when it was known as Midway City. In those days, Pittman was the scene of many tents and temporary buildings. After the dam was completed in February 1935, the construction workers moved away, leaving Pittman in a declining state. It was not until the event of World War II, when the Basic Magnesium Plant was built, that Pittman again was flooded with residents. The town was granted a Post Office and its name was changed from Midway City to Pittman in honor of the late U.S. Senator Key Pittman

Prior to the construction of the magnesium plant, the site of the present City of Henderson was a stretch of open desert country. It was selected as an ideal location for the plant because of the accessibility of raw materials, water supply, power and transportation. The plant was established to fill the immediate need for the metal magnesium, urgency being the main objective. Ground was broken in September of 1941, before Pearl Harbor was attacked. Basic Townsite, as Henderson was known when the construction began, consisted only of tents and temporary buildings, as had the Pittman area. Work on the last of the plant units was completed in May 1943. After the Post Office was completed and dedicated on January 10, 1944, the new-born desert city was officially named Henderson after the late Senator Charles B. Henderson.

With the end of World War II in 1945, the plant was declared surplus with the Federal Government ready to dismantle completely and sell for scrap that which could not be reclaimed. A far-sighted State Government, acting through the Colorado River Commission, purchased the plant for $24 million. It was then sold to private industry which brought back jobs to Henderson and Clark County. So the town which once had almost been abandoned to the wilds of the desert, as so many once flourishing towns in the southwest have been, began the long, hard climb back to its rebirth as a city.

Production figures at the plants rose. The original houses created to provide housing for the employees of the sprawling mile-long magnesium plant were sold by B.M.I. to the residents, and new ones were built. The population climbed from almost 5,000 in the 1950 census to over 12,000 by January, 1955.

On June 8, 1953, the original townsite and the town of PIttman and some contiguous areas were incorporated to become the City of Henderson. In 1955 the city covered an area of some 13 square miles. In 1963, Congress enacted Public Law 88-73 directing the Secretary of the Interior to convey, through purchase to the City of Henderson, approximately 16,000 acres of raw land. This land has been put to beneficial use through development of residential, commercial, and industrial uses. Today the area covers 80 square miles, has a population of approximately 159,000 and is the third largest city in the State of Nevada.

Henderson is not only the fastest developing city in Nevada, but also has several of the largest developments under construction in the state.

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