Jean (population 0) is the only place in Nevada that is a thriving commercial business community, but does not have any residents. There is a historic marker by the side of the road that gives a brief history of the community.
Jean was founded in 1904 at a junction along the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad. The original name of the community was Goodsprings Junction; but in 1905 the postmaster renamed the community Jean, in honor of his wife.
In 1911 the Yellow Pine Mining Company Railroad from Goodsprings was connected to the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad in Jean, which resulted in some population growth. However, when the mines played-out, the residents moved away.
The old dirt trail that ran from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and then on to Sale Lake City was know as the Arrowhead Trail Highway, and ran parallel to the railroad tracks near Jean. The road was eventually named Highway 91 and later became Interstate-15. When Highway 91 ran through Las Vegas it was known as Las Vegas Boulevard, and that section of the road later became known as "The Strip.". A historic marker by the side of the road that gives a brief history of the Arrowhead Trail Highway.
In 1947, "Pop" Simon opened a new motel/casino/store/gas station at the Jean site, and the property remained open until 1988 when it was decided to build two new hotel/casino "sister properties." The Gold Strike Hotel and Gambling Hall was build on the south side of the road and Nevada Landing Hotel/Casino was built on the north side of the road. Since the property owners did not know what to do with all of the "Pop's" Chips and Tokens, they decided to pour everything into the foundation of the new Nevada Landing Hotel/Casino.
The Nevada Landing Hotel/Casino was designed to resemble two riverboats parked side-by-side. There were 303 hotel rooms, four restaurants, over 800 slot machines, live keno, table games, banquet facility and wedding services.
In 2004 MGM Mirage acquired the Nevada Landing property and kept it open until 2007, when they decided to demolish the structures and build a new master-planned community on the 166 acre site. The community was planned to include affordable housing, commercial businesses, shops, and a new hotel/casino. However, after the structures were demolished, the economy changed and the site now still remains vacant. When the property was demolished, collectors broke up parts of the concrete foundation in an attempt to find old "Pop's" Chips and Tokens.
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| Picture Provided by Yelp |
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| Picture by ZooFari at English Wikipedia |
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| Picture by Carol M. Highsmith |
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| Nevada Landing Site as it looked on October 26, 2018 |
It is difficult to miss the entrance to the hotel/casino because at the property turnoff there is a giant prospector panning for gold - your gold of course!
The hotel/casino is located near one Nevada's off-road race courses, so Jean is a staging area for several of the events. Within the casino area there is a collection of off-road vehicles and the actual vehicles used in several Hollywood movies.
Try this with your 4-wheel-drive SUV - keep both rear tires on the ground and then raise the right-front tire about four feet in the air!
The Delorean DMC-12 on display appeared in all three Back to the Future movies and the "Save The Clock Tower" flyer was still in the vehicle.
1955 Ford Fairlane from Grease Live!
Customized 1955 Lincoln Futura that appeared in the Batman TV Series and Batman: The Movie.
Custom vehicle built using 2012 GM components appeared in Fast & Furious 6.
1967 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 appeared in Fast & Furious 7.
The main post office for Zip Code 89019 is located in Jean and also serves the communities of Primm, Sandy Valley, and other rural areas.
There is even a courthouse located in Jean!
And, located just down the road from the courthouse is the Nevada Minimum-Custody Female Offenders Facility that can house up to 240 temporary "guest." The "guest" work for the Nevada Division of Forestry by fighting fires during the fire season, complete conservation projects throughout the year, and do highway clean-up for the Department of Transportation.
In the early 1970s a Las Vegas car club used the Jean Airport to operate a 1/4 mile drag strip that was sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association. Since there were no timing lights, a flagger started each race and the winner was determined by a person at the end of the 1/4 mile track. Since there were no cell phones, the person at the end of the track would stand in the winner's lane so people at the starting line could tell who won the race. Even though racers could protest the outcome, it did not make any difference because the person's decision at the end of the track was considered to be final. Races were discontinued when the Las Vegas Speedrome was opened across from Nellis Air Force Base.
The Jean airport is now mostly used for private planes. Vegas Extreme Skydiving is located at the airport and their motto is "Home of the Happy Landing," or at least customers hope that happens before they take off.
In the planning stages is the new Ivanpah International Airport that will be located on a dry lake-bed just west of Jean. The Airport Authority has obtain land from the Federal Government for the new airport, but the start-of-construction date is still unknown.
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