When Nevada Business Journal set out to determine the most influential Nevadans of the century from 1900-1999, we polled a neutral panel of historians (see sidebar) and used their suggestions. Picking the most important person of each decade was sometimes difficult, since some people’s influence extended over many years, and some decades had several candidates competing for top honors. The final list includes politicians, kingmakers, developers, businessmen and educators. All the Nevadans of the Century profoundly changed the state, whether they brought water to the desert, erected monuments in steel and glass, or made life better for Nevada’s families. We also salute the thousands of other Nevadans — famous personalities as well as ordinary citizens — who participated in Nevada’s development from a frontier state with a population of 42,000 in 1900 to today’s bustling, modern state of 2 million residents and counting.
Francis G. Newlands
1900-1909
Newlands served as a congressman from1893 to1903 and as a U.S. Senator from 1903 to 1917. He helped change the face of Nevada by sponsoring the Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902, which provided federal sponsorship of irrigation projects to reclaim desert lands. The Newlands Project at Fallon, the first in the nation under the reclamation act, diverted the waters of the Truckee and Carson Rivers, permitting the growth of the town of Fallon and bringing tens of thousands of acres of land under cultivation. The Newlands Reclamation Act affected the history of the entire West, leading to federal dam-building projects that culminated eventually in the construction of Hoover Dam.
Anne H. Martin
1910-1919
A University of Nevada history professor and chair of the Nevada Equal Franchise Society, Martin campaigned vigorously for passage of the women’s suffrage amendment and gained national prominence for her work in politics. The Nevada Equal Franchise Society organized branches in every county of the state, issued pamphlets, arranged rallies and speeches, and lobbied the Legislature on behalf of voting rights for women. They were finally successful in amending the Nevada Constitution in 1914, although the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was not ratified until 1920. Martin was the first woman to run for U.S. Senate in Nevada, running twice for Senate in this decade.
George Wingfield
1920-1929
George Wingfield became a millionaire in the mines of Goldfield and went on to own a chain of banks, numerous ranches and several Reno hotels. He parlayed his economic power into political influence, becoming the most dominant figure in Nevada from 1907 to 1932. Active in political party circles in the 1920s, he became the reputed boss of both Democratic and Republican parties. His Spanish Springs Valley Ranch, where he entertained the rich and famous, is now known as Wingfield Springs.
James G. Scrugham
1930-1939
An engineer by trade, James Scrugham was on the board of the first Colorado River Commission in 1922, and campaigned throughout the ’20s for the construction of a high dam on the Colorado. As governor from 1923 to 1927, he was the driving force behind the establishment of the state parks system. Scrugham began a tradition among Nevada governors of touring the state by automobile, which led him to press for improvements to the highway system. As a Congressman from 1933 to 1943 and a U. S. Senator from 1943 to 1945, he was instrumental in bringing several federally-funded projects to Nevada.
Patrick McCarran
1940-1949
As U.S. Senator from 1933 to 1954, Pat McCarran was the most nationally-significant and visible Nevada politician of the mid-20th century. During this decade, he helped establish an airport in Southern Nevada that bears his name. He engineered the state’s acquisition of the old Basic Magnesium Plant, thereby making possible the town of Henderson and the state’s industrial base. McCarran helped bring several military bases, including Nellis Air Force Base, to Nevada in World War II. He assisted Sen. Joseph McCarthy in his Communist-hunting activities, protected the gaming industry from attacks by other senators, and in 1950 assisted in the creation of the Nevada Test Site.
Maude Frazier
1950-1959
Maude Frazier came to Nevada in 1906 to teach in mining camps, and she was involved with education in Nevada until her death in 1963. As superintendent of Las Vegas schools from 1927 to 1946, she was the driving force behind the construction of Las Vegas High School. After retiring from the school district, she served in the Nevada Assembly for 12 years. In 1955, she persuaded legislators to appropriate $200,000 for a Southern Nevada campus of the university system, which eventually became UNLV. When Lt. Gov. Rex Bell died suddenly in 1962, she was appointed to complete his term, becoming the first woman to serve as Nevada lieutenant governor.
Also: Hank Greenspun. As owner of the Las Vegas Sun newspaper, Greenspun championed political causes, which included exposing corruption, opposing McCarthyism and promoting civil liberties. In the 1950s, he helped elect two governors, started the first television station in Las Vegas, and began buying land, which he and his family eventually developed into the master-planned community of Green Valley.
Also: William F. “Bill” Harrah. In 1937, Bill Harrah opened the first Harrah’s Casino in Reno, a small bingo parlor that would be the beginning of a Nevada empire. Harrah used his considerable marketing skills to develop innovative methods of attracting customers to his establishments in Reno and Lake Tahoe. He was influential in helping to establish and support the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1955, to shore up the reputation of the gaming industry. Harrah was one of the first casino owners to invite African-American entertainers and patrons into his clubs, and also removed race and sex barriers in hiring.
E. Parry Thomas
1960-1969
As CEO of Bank of Las Vegas, E. Parry Thomas and his partner, Jerry Mack, made loans to Las Vegas casinos when gaming properties were considered untouchable by other financial institutions. He was influential in persuading the Legislature to pass a bill in 1967 to allow corporations to purchase casinos, and acted as Howard Hughes’ agent when Hughes was buying Las Vegas gaming properties. In 1968, his bank merged with Valley Bank of Reno to become Valley Bank. Thomas and Mack formed a foundation to purchase 300 acres of land to be held in trust for UNLV, and they were also involved in establishing the United Way of Southern Nevada.
Also: Grant Sawyer. As Governor from 1959 to 1967, Sawyer was probably the most famous Nevada liberal politician. He created the first commission to regulate gaming in 1959, and in the ’60s he implemented and supported the Black Book, which helped drive out mobsters. He started the Equal Rights Commission, the first step Nevada took toward any semblance of racial equality.
Also: Howard Hughes. When Howard Hughes moved to Las Vegas in 1966, he changed the face of legalized gaming forever. He was instrumental in changing the Nevada law to allow corporations to purchase casinos, and helped clean up Nevada gaming’s image. He bought nine major properties on the Strip and revitalized Las Vegas and the state’s economy. Hughes gave the state money to create a medical school and a community college system, and the property he got from the Bureau of Land Management on the western edge of town was later developed into the master-planned community of Summerlin.
Jim Joyce
1970-1979
From 1973 until his death in 1993, lobbyist Jim Joyce managed to get 270 politicians elected to office, influenced their decisions and helped formulate public policy in the state. In the early 1970s, he joined May Advertising as a political consultant, starting what would be a long career as Nevada’s premier lobbyist. In 1975, Joyce and Marydean Martin founded Joyce and Martin Advertising. Ninety percent of the campaigns he managed ended in victory, and he was a tireless crusader for causes in which he believed. He maintained pressure on the Legislature to support the University system, and played a major role in gaining funding for the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism at UNR.
Also: Irwin Molasky. Molasky built Las Vegas’ first modern private hospital, Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, in 1958; its first enclosed shopping center, Boulevard Mall, in 1967; and its first high-rise in 1976. He was involved in the development of most of Maryland Parkway from Sahara Avenue to Flamingo Road, in addition to homes, shopping centers and apartments throughout the Valley. In the early ’60s, he worked with other business leaders to move McCarran International Airport to its current site. Molasky was a key figure in the development of UNLV: He was the founding chairman of the UNLV Foundation, and he and his partners donated 45 acres of land for the campus. Not one to slow down with age, he is currently developing the $100 million Park Towers luxury condominium project.
Also: Kirk Kerkorian. In 1962, Kirk Kerkorian bought 80 acres on the Strip across from the Flamingo Hotel, which eventually became the site of Caesars Palace. With proceeds from the sale of this land and other smart investments, Kerkorian built the International (now the Las Vegas Hilton) in 1969, and bought the Flamingo Hotel the same year. In 1973, after selling the International and the Flamingo to the Hilton Corporation, he built the MGM Grand (now Bally’s). Both the International and MGM Grand were the largest hotels in the world when they opened. In 1993, he opened the newer, much larger version of the MGM Grand, and recently took over Steve Wynn’s properties — lock, stock, barrel and artworks.
Paul Laxalt
1980-1989
Paul Laxalt served as Governor from 1967 to 1971, and as U.S. Senator from 1974 to 1987. He was often in the national spotlight as an ally and confidant of President Ronald Reagan, and was often referred to as “The First Friend.” He was the national chairman of Reagan’s presidential campaigns in 1976, 1980 and 1984. During his Senate career, Laxalt participated in critical negotiations and conferences around the world. His most notable venture, undertaken at the behest of Reagan, led him to the Philippines to urge then-President Ferdinand Marcos to undertake political and military reforms. Laxalt eventually urged the Philippine leader to step down peacefully, thus averting a bloody civil war.
Also: Jean Ford. Jean Ford was a tireless worker with the Clark County League of Women Voters, promoting such issues as setting aside land for parks and instituting school integration. She served in the Assembly from 1972 to 1976, and the State Senate from 1978 to 1982. She led the fight in Nevada for the Equal Rights Amendment, and after her retirement from public office was instrumental in developing women’s studies programs at the state universities.
Also: Richard Bryan. Richard Bryan has served the state of Nevada as assemblyman, state senator, attorney general, governor and U.S. senator. As governor from 1983 to 1988, he reconstructed the Department of Economic Development, dividing it into two commissions, one on tourism and one on economic development aimed at diversifying the state economy. As U.S. Senator, he led the fight to pass landmark legislation requiring all proceeds from the sale of federal lands in Southern Nevada to be spent within the state, and he has led a 17-year campaign to keep nuclear waste out of Nevada. He is retiring this year after serving since 1988 in the Senate, where he sat on all three major fiscal committees.
Steve Wynn
1990-1999
Steve Wynn is the consummate entrepreneur, relentlessly pursuing his personal vision and changing the face of the resort industry in the process. In the 1970s, he rebuilt the aging Golden Nugget, leading to the revitalization of the downtown area, and also expanded into Atlantic City. He used profits from the sale of his Atlantic City property, as well as junk bonds, to finance the Mirage, which opened in 1989 as the first major Las Vegas Strip resort built since 1973. The Mirage ushered in the era of the mega-resort, followed in the 1990s by Treasure Island and Wynn’s showpiece property, Bellagio. Last year, Wynn decided to sell all his properties, and bought the Desert Inn shortly afterward. No one knows exactly what his current plans are for the property, but if the past is any indication, they will be trend-setting.
Also: Harry Reid. Reid served as Lieutenant Governor from 1971 to 1975 and as chairman of the Gaming Commission from 1977 to 1981, when he battled the infamous Frank (Lefty) Rosenthal. Since Nevadans elected him to the Senate in 1986, Reid has developed a reputation as a consensus builder and an accomplished legislator. At the beginning of his third term in 1998, he was elected by his colleagues to serve as the assistant Democratic leader, also known as the Democratic Whip, helping to guide legislation through the Senate and secure votes to pass key measures. His position as a senior Senator gives him considerable political clout, which he has used to promote projects such as protecting Lake Tahoe and blocking the establishment of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste depository.
Also: William J. “Bill” Raggio. Bill Raggio has served in the Nevada Senate since before many voters were born, and he is still going strong in his seventh term, despite undergoing heart surgery in December. First elected in 1972, he serves as the Senate Majority Leader and chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee. He has consistently ranked among the “Most Influential Persons” in Nevada newspaper polls, and is a formidable force in the Legislature.
Nevada Business Journal polled historians for suggestions on the most influential Nevadans from 1900 to 1999. Our thanks to the following contributors:
Michael Green, History Dept., Community College of Southern Nevada
James Hulse, History Dept., UNR (emeritus)
Jeffrey Kintop and staff, Nevada State Library and Archives
Eugene Moehring, History Dept., UNLV
Eric Moody, Nevada Historical Society
Frank Wright, Nevada State Museum and Historical Society
