The Boulder Canyon Project grew out of a need for water storage and a reliable source for irrigation water, as well as flood and silt control and later also for hydroelectricity.

The Hoover, or Boulder, Dam opened in 1935. Built as a means of counteracting the effects of the Great Depression, this ambitious project provided employment, income and hope during a dire time. As a result, both men and women migrated to this desolate and inhospitable region of southern Nevada, to find work and to make a new life.