The first Armenian known to have moved to America was Martin the Armenian, who arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1618. Since his arrival Armenians have dispersed all throughout United States.

When Las Vegas started as a small railroad town in 1905, Armenian farmers, craftsmen and merchants showed little interest in settling in a place which was famous for its desert, scarce natural resources and limited trade connections.  But in time, Armenians who were trying to escape the genocide in their homeland began to settle in Los Angeles, Fresno and Las Vegas. Though, at first, Southern Nevada seemed an unlikely place for Armenians to settle, now it has a 20,000 Armenian population.

So with the hopes of buying cheap lands and business opportunities, Armenian families started moving to Las Vegas Valley in about 1911. Though the Armenian community of Las Vegas is relatively young compared to Los Angeles and Fresno communities, but the community is already diverse and vibrant.  There are Armenian political organizations, cultural groups, business and even Armenian Apostolic Church which was established in 1998. One of the main goals of the Armenian church of Las Vegas is to strengthen and ensure the continuation of Armenian language and culture.

Despite the fact, that the Armenian community of Las Vegas consists of immigrants from Armenia, different parts of the world and United States, they still share a common heritage, and nothing can unite Armenians more than the memory of the Armenian Genocide.

Las Vegas has seen the rise of a number of Armenians who have promoted the Armenian community. Among them are financier Kirk Kerkorian, the winning UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, who passed away recently, and champion tennis player and philanthropist Andre Agassi, whose father is Armenian.

Kerkorian is known as one of the important figures in shaping Las Vegas. He is considered the godfather of Las Vegas casinos.

Thanks to the dedication of Las Vegas’ Armenian-American community, the victims of the genocide of Armenians will be honored with a monument in the park. The monument is a major accomplishment for Las Vegas’ Armenian community, which has been working for five years to raise money and get permission to put the sculpture in one of the region’s biggest parks. The Armenian American Cultural Society of Las Vegas accomplished this by raising more than $100,000 to pay for construction and long-term maintenance. Las Vegas’ monument is modeled after a similar sculpture in Armenia, with 12 decorative concrete pillars representing the 12 provinces where Armenians were killed during the genocide. Construction is expected to begin in the next three months and finish in about a year.

ArmenianBD.com