In a move blending sustainability with heritage, Kiel Ranch Historic Park in North Las Vegas has undergone a $150,000 restoration to revive its historic orchard, with plans to address the urban heat island effect and food insecurity. Set for a grand opening on April 30, the orchard at 2465 Kiel Way will begin serving the public following a private celebration, according to the City of North Las Vegas.
The City placed 36 fruity additions to the site, think citrus and fig, almond, apple, even pistachio, all in homage to one of the area's earliest settlements, while the City of Las Vegas chipped in with nine four-foot box trees native to the parched lands of the region; this new tree line-up was the brainchild of four local arborists, who made sure these trees could stand up to the desert climate, the City's statement outlines. To sweeten the historic deal, park goers can feast their eyes on two chuckwagons, a nod to the ranch's storied days, and a fence straight out of the late 19th Century – sans the splinters.
Making education a breeze under the new shade, the orchard plans to serve up classes about gardening and farming, part of the expanded slate of amenities for the park's patrons. For those interested in the particulars of the new leafy labyrinth or its historical roots, they can visit the city's official webpage at cityofnorthlasvegas.com/kiel.
Amid the park’s landscape stands the historic Kiel Ranch, a site with roots dating back to its time as a Mormon mission-run farm and earlier, to the presence of the indigenous Paiutes. The park features one of Nevada’s oldest surviving adobe structures, known as the Doll House, and a pond fed by artesian water. Once owned by Conrad Kiel in the late 1800s, the ranch was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
