The Virgin Valley Heritage Museum, originally known as the Desert Valley Museum, is in

Mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus '' Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under gr ...

, Nevada and is listed on the United States

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The museum displays exhibits about area pioneers and local history.

History

The building was designed by Walter Warren Hughes and built by the

National Youth Administration The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June 26, 1935 to ...

in the Vernacular Pueblo Revival style. Opened in 1940 as a library, it was converted around 1945 to a Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital branch. From 1977 to 1984, the building was used by the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

for meetings. It opened as the Desert Valley Museum on May 23, 1985. In July 2001, the name was changed to the Virgin Valley Heritage Museum. The site was listed as a building in the National Register of Historic Places on October 24, 1991.

Collection

The collection includes artifacts from about 1875 to 1935.

References

External links

– City of Mesquite {{Nevada State Historic Places/Clark Museums in Clark County, Nevada National Register of Historic Places in Clark County, Nevada Buildings and structures in Mesquite, Nevada History museums in Nevada Pueblo Revival architecture New Deal in Nevada Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Nevada Museums on the National Register of Historic Places National Youth Administration