Rafael Rivera (Scout)

This article is about a 19th century Mexican scout. For the soccer player of the same name, see Rafael Rivera .

Rafael Rivera (before 1829 - after 1829) was a Mexican scout and the first non-indigenous person to step into what is now the Las Vegas Valley.

In 1829 the merchant Antonio Armijo led a group of 60 people along the Old Spanish Trail to Los Angeles . Rivera, a little experienced scout, separated from the main group and explored unknown territory. Soon he discovered the Las Vegas Springs in what is now the Las Vegas Springs Reserve ; the place was named by an unknown member of his trek. The spring water he discovered shortened the way to Los Angeles by two weeks. About 14 years after Rivera's discovery, John C. Frémont camped out on an expedition near Las Vegas Springs on May 13, 1844.

The Rafael Rivera Park Community Center and Raphael Rivera Street were named after the scout. The Nevada Historical Marker 214 also reminds of him.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ lvrj.com
2. ↑ lasvegas.sdsu.edu /
3. ↑ lvol.com
4. ↑ Barbara Land, Myrick Land: A short history of Las Vegas. University of Nevada Press, 2004, p. 4.
5. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from April 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.