Elbert Edwards Photograph Collection
The Elbert Edwards Photograph Collection contains photographs of Nevada from 1852 to 1991. The collection has a wide variety of photographs, including: white pioneers and settlers; early Nevada towns; Nevada politicians; early Las Vegas landmarks; Boulder City schools; petroglyphs from Nevada’s indigenous populations; Lost City and Lake Mead; railroads; the Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam); Basic Magnesium Inc. in Henderson, Nevada; geographical features; the Edwards family; and photographs of Elbert Edwards’s participation in the Las Vegas Education Association and the Rotary Club.
Elbert Edwards was born in 1907 in Panaca, Nevada to pioneer Mormon settlers. He attended the University of Nevada, Reno before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada to accept a teaching position at the newly opened Las Vegas High School in 1929. Edwards taught seventh-grade social studies and also served as Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction before he became Superintendent of the Las Vegas School District. During his 37-year tenure, he also authored numerous publications on Nevada history, especially concerning the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In addition to his school service, Edwards was president and executive secretary of the Nevada Scholastic League for eleven years, a member of the Rotary Club, and served on the Nevada Public Employees Retirement Board. Edwards was also a member of the original Boulder City Charter and the City Civil Service Commission. He also spent sixteen years as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Nevada Historical Society. In 1977, the Elbert B. Edwards Elementary School was named in his honor. He died in 1989 at the age of 82.