Las Vegas was established in 1835 after a group of settlers received a land
grant from the Mexican government. The town was laid out in the traditional
Spanish Colonial style, with a central plaza surrounded by buildings which
could serve as fortifications in case of attack. Las Vegas soon prospered as a
stop on the Santa Fe Trail. During the Mexican-American War in 1846, Stephen W.
Kearny delivered an address at the Plaza of Las Vegas claiming New Mexico for
the United States. In 1877 Las Vegas College, the precursor to Regis University,
was founded in Las Vegas by a group of exiled Italian Jesuits. In 1887, Las
