Distant from the bright lights and tucked away in the middle of a block in this city is a small adobe building known as "Mormon Fort."

The fort - actually, just one corner of the original structure - is Nevada's oldest standing building, according to authorities.It was erected in 1855 and maintained until 1857 by Mormon settlement missionaries. In its early history, the fort's strategic location was listed on Civil War maps, although no soldiers were ever garrisoned here. Travelers along the California trail often used it as a way station, and, in its later history, it became a ranch house.

Today, the fort is maintained by the city of Las Vegas and its location is once again strategic. The building is at the center of major plans by the city and state to create a cultural and historic corridor. The plans may well mean an archaeological excavation leading to a partial or complete reconstruction of the original 150-foot square adobe structure, and establishment of a state historic park.

The city has purchased eight acres, including the adjacent Elks Club Lodge where still flows the 60-foot deep warm springs discovered by John Fremont in 1844 in what was then New Mexico Territory.

The fort is symbolic of the Church presence here, a presence that began small but has continually increased in significance through the years. Typical of the members who have helped maintain that significance is Berkeley L. Bunker, who has been a leader in preserving the fort. Bunker is a former bishop, mission president, and regional representative whose roots go back to pioneer settlers, including those who started the Mormon colony of Bunkerville. He once served as a U.S. senator.

In a history of the Church in Las Vegas, he wrote:

"From the spiritual pioneer glow of the Old Fort to the magnificent new Las Vegas Temple is a period we would willingly, even anxiously, live over again notwithstanding the piercing hardships that would entail."

The effort to colonize the area began in Salt Lake City in April 1855 when about 30 men were called as settlement missionaries. They arrived at the warm springs June 14 and wasted no time in establishing a camp, and then erecting a bowry for religious services. On June 18, some began clearing and plowing while others started work on the fort.

They built 14-foot walls made of sun-dried adobe bricks. Peepholes for weapons were installed seven feet high in case hostilities developed. But the peepholes were never used for weapons as the colony of missionaries expanded and shared their agricultural successes and taught the gospel to local Indian tribes. Records indicate that 65 Indians were baptized, among them three chiefs.

When a deposit of lead was discovered nearby, a second group of Mormons was sent from Salt Lake City to "The Meadows," or in Spanish, Las Vegas. This group mined and smelted some 9,000 pounds of lead.

But the colony struggled despite some successes. With little food to eat, the men found it difficult to put in a hard day's work. Workers were needed both in the fields and at the lead mine. When the mission was recalled during the threat from Johnston's army in 1857, the fort was abandoned by Mormons and it became a way station on the Salt Lake-Los Angeles trail.

The Union Army found a way to take advantage of the strategic location of the fort during the Civil War. Col. James H. Carlton named the structure "Fort Baker" in 1861, and announced that a garrison of California volunteers would occupy the fort to guard the trail. Col. Carlton evidently used this announcement to conceal the real activity of the California volunteers - a march across the desert to what is now Arizona, and to supply points further eastward.

While Army records indicate no soldiers were ever stationed at the fort, the well-publicized announcement may have had the desired effect. Both Union and Confederate maps of that period plainly showed the fort, even though it was vacant. And the California volunteers crossed the desert without incident.

After the war, the fort and farmland became the property of Octavo D. Gass, and became know as "the old ranch." After another change of ownership the ranch became property of Union Pacific Railroad.

The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers were instrumental in obtaining a lease of the property from the railroad, restoring the crumbling building and installing pioneer relics.