A small but diverse group of citizens, wishing to enhance their knowledge and cultural beginnings of the city they call home, took a stoll down memory lane with the Mesquite Senior Games Historical Walking Tour on Saturday, March 17; some even wore green. You didn’t need to be a senior to enjoy indulging in this one particular MSG event.
MSG is under the leadership of Executive Director Terri Rylander and sponsored by Mesquite Gaming.
The tour this year was led by Virgin Valley Heritage Museum Director Elspeth Kuta, who entertained the tourists, both young and old, with tales of historical buildings, sites and family histories with knowledge gained from historical books, newspapers, family members and word of mouth.
Rylander loves the Historical Walk being a part of the MSGs. “The walking tour is such a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable way to learn the history of your town,” Rylander said. “I really wish more people would take advantage of this event in the future; the tour is not just informative its great exercise on a beautiful day. It’s an especially wonderful event for a ‘family day’ activity.”
The historical tour took the participants to 24 stops along the walking route beginning at City Hall, which is the site of the former home of settler Walter Hughes and ended at the Virgin Valley Heritage Museum. The museum’s structure, listed in the National Register of Historical Places, is only one of two known buildings that is a surviving example of National Youth Administration projects in the state of Nevada.
The original purpose of the museum was to serve the community as a library and museum which it did for about a year before being converted into the areas first hospital. The museum lies on the ground of the Old Spanish Trail site 31 and Virgin Valley State Historical Site 56.
The tour ended at the museum with a catered lunch; participants ate under shade canopies in the museum gardens.
You can take the historical walking tour on your own, if you have the time, you’ll love the story; the history of Mesquite is rich and interesting.
Placards mark the historical sites and a map, provided at the museum, gives plenty of historical information. The Virgin Valley Heritage Museum is located at 35 W. Mesquite Blvd. Museum hours are 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Check out the museum for the extensive list of activities that will enhance your knowledge of the history of the Virgin Valley and give you a hands-on experience of what it was like for the early settlers.
For more information on activities, donations or how you can become involved, contact Elspeth Kuta at 702-346-5705 or visit their Facebook page: facebook.com/MesquiteNVMuseum.
For more information on the MSG and how you can register for the tour next year visit their web site at www.mesquiteseniorgames.org.
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