History · Mesquite

Mesquite’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold just one old photo of Mesquite. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1880established
1old images & papers
2historic places
11recent photos
Franklin S Leavitt residence, c. 1900 · Wikimedia Commons

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Mesquite was settled by Mormon pioneers in 1880, who called it Mesquite Flat. The community was finally established on the third attempt after having been flooded out from the waters of the Virgin River. The name was later shortened to Mesquite, and the city was incorporated 1984. The community was named for the mesquite timber near the original town site. Mesquite, like nearby Bunkerville, had its origins in farming. The Peppermill Mesquite casino, which opened in the 1970s, drove Mesquite's diversified economy. The city incorporated in 1984 and established a master development plan during the early 1990s. In the mid-1990s, more casinos opened. By 2006, Mesquite was one of the fastest-growing small towns in the United States, though the late-2000s recession led to the closure of the Oasis (formerly the Peppermill) casino.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1880Established
c. 1900Franklin S Leavitt residenceCommons
1910–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Be one of the first

Start Mesquite’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mesquite’s history is told.

1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewFranklin S Leavitt residence, c. 1900: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Mesquite

See all 2 →
By decade

Mesquite, decade by decade

National Register of Historic Places

2 historic places in Mesquite

2 places in Mesquite are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

#20
In Nevadaby listings · most towns there have none
2places listed2 buildings
0National Historic LandmarksNone here yet
2historic buildings protectedcounting each building in a district
1991first listedDesert Valley Museum · newest: Mesquite High School Gymnasium, 1992

Where they are

Tap a dot for a photo and link. Districts show at their center.
Buildings

When they were listed

The Register began in 1966.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (05/22/2026) · styles from the National Archives catalog · photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Franklin S Leavitt residence (c. 1900) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history

From Wikimedia Commons (12). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Mesquite, NVView boundary

Nearby

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01