There are many excellent resources on women's history in Clark County and southern Nevada.
Archives and Digital Collections
- "Documenting the African American Experience in Las Vegas." University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University Libraries. https://special.library.unlv.edu/aae.
Documenting the African American Experience in Las Vegas offers access to thousands of items, including text, images,and multimedia. The goal is "to fully preserve the heritage of the Las Vegas black community- its businesses, schools,churches, social and political organizations, publications, and entertainment." The project promises to "continue to locate, link, and curate this vibrant African American history- and make it easily accessible to everyone."
- "LVCVAArchive." Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority https://archive.lvcva.com/
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Archive, established in 1947, contains the Las Vegas New Bureau Collection and provides a comprehensive collection of Las Vegas's visual history.
- "Las Vegas Women Oral History Project." University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Special Collections and Archives. https://special.library.unlv.edu/taxonomy/terrn/12862.
- The Las Vegas Women Oral History Project began around 1994 to address the lack of information about women's lives in Las Vegas. It began with a focus on the gaming and entertainment industries but soon expanded to include women whocontributed to the development of Las Vegas in areas such as politics, business, and community building.
- "Nevada Women's Archives." University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Special Collections & Archives. https://www.library.unlv.edu/speccol/collecting strengths/nwa.
- The Nevada Women's Archives documents women's history in southern Nevada, highlighting women who have made significant contributions to the region. The collection includes a wide range of materials, such as personal and business papers, financial records, legal documents, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographs, and photo albums, and has many resources available online.
- "Nevada Women's History Project." https://www.nevadawomen.org/.
The Nevada Women's History Project started in 1993-94 to document women's contributions to the development of evada, which had previously been overlooked in the historical record. Through books, oral histories, biographies, and a website, the project aimed to fill this gap and preserve women's history. As the Nevada Women's History Project states, "Our mission is never ending. Women's history is never static, so there will be women and accomplishments to discover and write about for as long as there are women contributing to their communities and to our state. What the organization has achieved so far cannot be understated. Women are now being written into Nevada's history."
Books and Theses
- Carpenter, Jami, and Denise Gerdes, eds. Unforgettable Nevada Women: One Hundred Biographical Profiles of Nevada Women in History. Las Vegas: Southern Nevada Women's History Project, 2020.
- Duvall, M.A., ed. Skirts That Swept the Desert Floor: One Hundred Biographical Profiles of Nevada Women in History. Vol. 1. Las Vegas: Stephens Press, 2006.
- Estrada Calderon, Maribel. "The Frontier of the Labor Movement Latinas and the Longest Strike in Twentieth-Century Las Vegas." University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2021. https:/Jdjgjtalscholarshjp,unlv.edu/thesesdjssertatjons/4139.
- Goodwin, Joanne L. Changing the Game. Women at Work in Las Vegas, 1940-1990. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 2014.
- Orleck, Annelise. Storming Caesars Palace. How Black Mothers Fought Their Own War on Poverty. Boston Beacon Press, 2005.
- White, Claytee D. ''The Roles of African American Women in the Las Vegas Gaming Industry, 1940-1980." University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 1997. https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edulrtdsl3353
- 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.