Henderson, Boulder City Chambers Gather to Celebrate Museum

HENDERSON – The Henderson Chamber of Commerce will join with the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce to celebrate 50 years of the Clark County Museum during a mixer from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 26 at the museum, located at 1830 S. Boulder Highway in Henderson. Commissioner James Gibson and Mark Hall-Patton, curator at the Clark County Museum, will be on hand to tell stories about Henderson, Southern Nevada and its history at the museum.

In conjunction with the event, the Henderson Chamber is currently helping the Clark County Museum Guild raise funds for the Grand Canyon Airlines Ticket Office – Bradley House Restoration Project. To date, the guild has raised $152,600 of the $250,000 needed to complete the project. The Henderson Chamber’s goal is to raise $20,000 by the night of the event – $8,500 has been raised to date.

The history between the museum and the Henderson Chamber of Commerce is a strong one as a sub-committee of the chamber created the museum in 1968 as a separate nonprofit corporation.

“The Clark County Museum is a historical gem that is largely undiscovered in this valley, but it is one that people fall in love with once they visit, particularly Heritage Street,” said Gibson, who grew up in Henderson. “I encourage the community to get out to the museum to learn about our area’s past, particularly now during this anniversary. It’s especially attractive given the low price of admission, which keeps it accessible. I think people are surprised when they learn that the museum has a collection of more than 1 million artifacts and that it’s been around as long as it has. The museum and its collection are a wonderful reflection of who we are and helps tell our story as Southern Nevadans.”

The Grand Canyon Ticketing Office was built in the early 1930s at Bulloch Field in Boulder City to provide a waiting area for Grand Canyon Airways (GCA) passengers who reserved sightseeing flights over Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and the Grand Canyon. TWA shared the building with GCA, but by 1939, it built a larger terminal, which today is used as the Elks Lodge on Boulder Highway. The original building was moved to 618 Arizona St. and became the home of Henry and Ocie Bradley, the first black family to live in Boulder City. Glover E. “Roxy” Ruckstell, who employed the Bradleys and owned GCA, the Boulder Dam Hotel and all concessions at Lake Mead, had the building moved because he didn’t want the couple to commute into town for work.

The building was donated to the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum, a part of the Clark County Museum, in 2002 and was moved to the Clark County Museum campus. The Clark County Museum Guild began fundraising to restore the building – as they have other historic homes on the grounds – in 2013.

Cost for the mixer is $15 for Henderson and Boulder City Chamber members, $25 for non-members. An extra $10 will be charged for tickets purchased at the door. RSVPs can be accepted online at hendersonchamber.com through Wednesday, April 25.

For more information regarding the chamber, call the Henderson Chamber of Commerce at 702-565-8951 or visit www.hendersonchamber.com.