Elizabeth Harrington was born January 25, 1898 in Salida, Colorado. Her husband, Arthur, a bookkeeper with the Empire Zinc Company of New Jersey, moved to Potosi in 1916. His new bride joined him in 1917. The eldest of their five sons, Vincent, was one of the first three babies born at Potosi in 1918. They moved to Hanover, New Mexico, around 1920 when the Potosi Mine closed. After they returned to Nevada, Arthur started the Harrington Insurance Company. Arthur also was a founding member of both the Kiwanis Club in February 1926, and of the Bank of Nevada in May 1941. He served as the Kiwanis Club's first secretary and was named Secretary of the Board for the Bank of Nevada.
The Harringtons moved to Santa Monica, California, in 1946 because of Elizabeth's health, and Arthur died in 1961. From 1975 to 1979, Elizabeth wrote from her personal knowledge and experience, about Southern Nevada. Her articles describe life in early Las Vegas and Potosi, touching on aviation, Helldorado, banking, hotels, and medicine. Her essays were published in the Nevadan, the former Sunday magazine of the Review-Journal.
Harrington passed away in September 1992 at the age of 94. She was survived by three sons and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her sons, John and Robert, resided in Santa Monica, California, while her son Paul resided in Prescott, Arizona.
The Elizabeth Harrington Collection contains original drafts of thirteen essays that reflect life in early Las Vegas. These articles were written from Harrington's memory and experiences. They were published in the Nevadan section of the Review-Journal between 1975-1979. The time span of these essays is from 1904 to the early 1940s, yet a few of these writings cover a broader time period.
The brevity of some of these articles and the small size of the collection may present some problems for researchers who desire more in-depth information about early Las Vegas and its residents. While Harrington's essays often mention early residents and their businesses, they rarely focus on these individuals. Instead, most of her work conveys the ambiance of a by-gone era instead of presenting the details of daily life.
Harrington included over fifty photographs of early Las Vegas, including its citizens and their activities, as they related to the essays. They are a strong point of this collection because she labeled many of the photographs in detail. These photographs were removed to the photo collection, but xerox copies remain with the articles.
The collection also includes a copy of the Hotel Nevada registry for the dates May 29, 1905, through June 1, 1905, and a grammar school commencement program from May 29, 1935. The original accession number for the collection was 84-42.
Physical Description: 2 1/2 linear inches (1 box)
Restrictions: None
Location of Collection: Lied Library Special Collections Department, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
Processed by: Marie Imus
Date Completed: 4/19/95
Inventory and Container List
Elizabeth Harrington
T-165
| BOX # | FLDR# | CONTENTS |
| 1 | 1 | Typed Essay: "Pioneer Doctors" (Las Vegas) |
| 2 | Typed Essay: "First Las Vegas Hotels", 1904-1906 | |
| 3 | Typed Essay: "Potosi", 1913-1919 | |
| 4 | Typed Essay: "First Kiwanis Club of Las Vegas", 1920-1936 | |
| 5 | Typed Essay: "Growing Up in Early Las Vegas", 1920's | |
| 6 | Typed Essay: "The First Helldorado as I Knew It", 1934-1935 | |
| 7 | Typed Essay: "First Shows in Las Vegas", 1905-1929 | |
| 8 | Typed Essay: "A History of Early Las Vegas Schools", 1905-1966 | |
| 9 | Typed Essay: "First Las Vegas Banks", 1905-1966 | |
| 10 | Typed Essay: "...Beginning of...Las Vegas and...Early Pioneers", 1885-1920 | |
| 11 | Typed Essay: "...Early Las Vegas Airports...Western's Lost Plane," 1918-1941 | |
| 12 | Typed Essay: "Big Days for a Little Town", (Hoover Dam, 1911-1970) | |
| 13 | Typed Essay: "Sam Gay-Sheriff-Pioneer: His Search for Queho" (Paiute) | |
| END OF INVENTORY | ||
