The Story of Alexander Graham Bell, 1939Photo byWarner Bros., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Great men leave behind fascinating legacies.

That’s particularly true in the cities that they touch.

That’s exactly what J. Carlton Adair did in the city of Henderson.

J. Carlton Adair

J. Carlton Adair’s first career was in acting. Even in that career, he was anything but average. He appeared in over 50 films and television shows during his nearly two-decade career.

His film credits include:

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938)
• The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939)
• The Great Dictator (1940)
• The Big Sleep (1946)
• The Ten Commandments (1956)

His television credits include:

• The Lone Ranger
• The Adventures of Superman
• The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
• The Rifleman
• The Twilight Zone

His second career was as a businessman. He achieved lots of success in that field as well, but he also experienced failure.

In fact, it was his biggest failure, that might have been his biggest success.

Lake Las Vegas

Lake Las Vegas ViewPhoto byRenee Grayson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lake Las Vegas is well-liked today.

But when J. Carlton Adair first came up with the idea, originally called Lake Adair, he was ridiculed.

People called it too expensive and impossible to build. Others said it would ruin the city.

Those people were all wrong. Adair was a visionary who happened to be slightly ahead of his time.

In the late 1960s, J. Carlton Adair dreamed up his masterpiece. He wanted to build a community in Henderson at Lake Mead with a 320-acre lake as its focus.

That project never came to fruition. But it served as the blueprint and inspiration for the Lake Las Vegas we know today.

Lake Las Vegas is a 320-acre man-made lake located near Lake Mead. It’s made possible by the dam that creates the lake, which is 18 stories high, 4,800 ft. long, and 716 ft. wide at its base. The Las Vegas Wash passes under the lake using two 96-inch pipes that take water from the Wash directly into Lake Mead.

Lake Las Vegas today is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike. It includes many great features, including:

• Two Resorts
• Water Activities
• Golf
• Hiking
• Shopping
• Food

Henderson Today

J. Carlton Adair had an ambitious vision for the City of Henderson. That vision was largely right.

Henderson is no Las Vegas, but it’s great in its own right.

It’s a much smaller tourist destination, which makes it better for locals. And that’s one of the things that makes Henderson such a great place to live.