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Women of Clark County
Anna Roberts Parks
1899 - 1962
A business owner and collector, Anna Roberts Parks’s collection of objects and furniture became the foundation of the Clark County Museum collection. Parks arrived in Las Vegas in 1911 with William Roberts, who she later married. They opened a store and owned a share of a limestone-mining claim.
William and Anna married in 1914. Later that year, William saw the need for a mortuary business to serve Las Vegas and its surrounding mining communities. He opened the Las Vegas Undertaking Company. Anna worked alongside William and became knowledgeable about the business. They had a daughter. Anna wanted to learn more and enrolled in mortuary school in Las Angles. After completing the program, Anna returned to Las Vegas. Soon after, she and William divorced.
Anna went on to open Palm Funeral Home and later expanded the business to include several locations. In 1928, she married S. Gene Parks. She eventually opened a small museum to showcase the many items she had collected. Her daughter later donated the collection to the Henderson Chamber of Commerce, and it became the basis of the Clark County Museum, which includes an exhibition hall named in Anna Roberts Parks honor.
Pictured: Clark County Museum.
Sources
- Peterson, Kristen. “Local Women Every Las Vegan Should Know About.” Las Vegas Weekly, February 26, 2014. https://lasvegasweekly.com/as-we-see-it/2014/feb/26/las-vegas-women-womens-history-month/.
- Whitely, Joan Burkhart, ed. Steadfast Sisters of the Silver State: One Hundred Biographical Profiles of Nevada Women in History. Las Vegas: Stephens Press, 2013.
For questions or comments, please reach out to the Clark County Museum at ccmuseum@clarkcountynv.gov.