Overton, Nevada

Overton
Unincorporated Town
Overton seen from the edge of Mormon Mesa
Overton Location within the state of Nevada
Coordinates: 36°32′35″N 114°26′46″W / 36.54306°N 114.44611°WCoordinates: 36°32′35″N 114°26′46″W / 36.54306°N 114.44611°W
Country	United States
State	Nevada
County	Clark
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)

Overton is an Unincorporated Town located in Clark County, Nevada. The town is on the north end of Lake Mead. The town is home to Perkins Field airport and Echo Bay Airport.

History

Overton was originally settled in 1869 with Helaman Pratt serving as branch president. A regular LDS branch was organized there in 1883.^[1] In the 1880s, Overton was the location of the only store in the lower Moapa Valley and attracted people from neighboring localities who arrived in Overton to buy supplies. In the 1930s, the town of St. Thomas was submerged by water as Lake Mead was being filled, and the majority of its population relocated to Overton. After that, Overton developed as the main core of the business community in the lower Moapa Valley. It also hosted most of the social events in the area.^[2]

Geography

Overton is located in Moapa Valley 65 mi (105 km) northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The town features a stunning landscape of mesas, foothills, and nearby Lake Mead. It is also the settlement closest to Valley of Fire State Park.

Demographics

Overton is in the Moapa Valley, Nevada Census Bureau CDP.

Economy

Industry

Near Overton, there are deposits of magnesite, kaolin, and gypsum. Silica sand is also being produced.^[3]

Transportation

Former St. Thomas branch of Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad in Overton.

Nevada State Route 169 connects Overton with Interstate 15 (exit 93) in the north and Lake Mead National Recreation Area in the south. South of Overton, the highway into Valley of Fire state park (formerly a part of Nevada State Route 169, decommissioned in 2001) branches off west.

Overton is located on the former St. Thomas branch of Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad which runs along the Moapa Valley, from north to south. The construction of the branch started in 1911 from Moapa station, which lies on the main line between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. By March 1912, the construction was completed. In 1919, the railway was made a double track. In 1938 and 1939, the final six-mile segment leading to St. Thomas, which was submerged under waters of Lake Mead, was abandoned.^[4] The branch currently extends to the town southern outskirts, serving the gypsum plant. There is no passenger service, but there is freight traffic.

Attractions

• Double Negative is a work of art dug into the ground near Overton.
• Lost City Museum, houses artifacts from Pueblo Grande de Nevada. In particular, a pueblo dwelling has been reconstructed in the inner yard of the museum.
• Overton Wildlife Management Area is located south of Overton and adjacent to Lake Mead National Recreation Area.^[5]
• Overton has four entries in the National Register of Historic Places.

• Boulder Dam Park Museum (listed in 1996);
• LDS Moapa Stake Office Building (listed in 2002);
• Overton Gymnasium (listed in 1992);
• St. Thomas Memorial Cemetery (listed in 2005).

Two more entries are located in the vicinity of Overton. These are the wreck of Boeing B-29 Serial No. 45-21847 submerged in Lake Mead and Pueblo Grande de Nevada.

Notes

1. Andrew Jenson. Encyclopedic History of the Church (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1941) p. 665
2. "Moapa Valley History". Moapa Valley Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
3. "The mineral industry of Nevada" (PDF). U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MINERALS YEARBOOK—2000. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
4. Myrick, David F. (1992). Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California: The southern roads. University of Nevada Press. p. 662. ISBN 9780874171945. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
5. "Overton Wildlife Management Area". Moapa Valley Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 27 March 2012.