North Las Vegas opens restored late-1800s fruit orchard

(KTNV) — North Las Vegas is bringing history back to life at Kiel Ranch Park with the debut of a community orchard from the late 1800s.

“This is a place where you can get away and enjoy yourself,” local Ray Charles Broughton, told Channel 13, “it’s like a little cowboy town, that’s what it used to be. So it’s a great history here.”

Now, a piece of that history has been restored since it’s been over a century since the orchard at the park has produced any food.

In 1875, Kiel Ranch was one of only two major ranches in the valley, well before the iconic city lights we know in Las Vegas today.

“We are bringing back the orchard to its original state, which is very hard to do. It took some historians and a lot of research to figure out what was here before, and then how we can make that work,” North Las Vegas’ urban forester Eddie Rodriguez said.

According to Rodriguez, it’s the only municipality-managed orchard in Southern Nevada

Along with historic wagons, inside the orchard fences are 36 fruit trees, including citrus, fig, almond, apple and pistachio.

There are also garden beds with veggies, which North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown took home some cuttings.

“In North Las Vegas, we are committed to the health and well-being of every resident in our city, and that means more than just adding green spaces, it means creating spaces that serve a purpose,” Goynes-Brown said during a celebration speech Wednesday.

The $150,000 project was orchestrated to address urban heat island impacts along with food insecurity in the area.

“We’re going to allow the community to come in when they need to, if they’re hungry or in need. We’re going to allow them to come in and pick from these fruits and vegetables to help bring sustenance back to the community,” Rodriguez explained.

Rodriguez said new classes on gardening and farming will take place at the park.

“It just gives me that much more inspiration and drive to want to continue to keep doing this throughout our city, to help the people who live here, work here and play here,” Rodriguez said.

That’s something locals like Broughton said is much needed; “North Las Vegas needs a lot of things like this.”

The City of North Las Vegas tells Channel 13 that now that the orchard is open, they’ll be hosting events for locals to come out and pick fruits and veggies to take home. Stay tuned for their updates on their official social media accounts.