Electricity from the dam also enabled the building of many new hotels along the Strip.
Urbanization took off in 1931 when work started on the Boulder Dam (now the Hoover Dam), bringing a huge influx of young male workers, for whom theaters and casinos were built, largely by the Mafia. In 1911, the town was incorporated as part of the newly founded Clark County. The stopover attracted some farmers (mostly from Utah) to the area, and fresh water was piped in to the settlement.
The settlement of Las Vegas, Nevada was founded in 1905 after the opening of a railroad that linked Los Angeles and Salt Lake City.
