Helen Wiser Stewart

Helen Wiser Stewart ( Wiser; after marriage, Stewart; April 16, 1854 – March 6, 1926) was a Southern Nevada pioneer and was considered the "first lady of Las Vegas".

Biography Helen Jane Wiser was born near Peoria, Illinois, on April 16, 1854. Nine years later, Stewart sold of the ranch, including the water rights, to the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad for . This land was established as the city of Las Vegas in 1905. In 1903, she married Frank Stewart (no relation to Archibald Stewart), who had been hired at the Las Vegas Ranch in 1886. Stewart moved into a new home in the growing community of Las Vegas and became an important part of social, political, and business circles.thumb In 1916, Stewart became the first woman elected to the Clark County School District's Board of Trustees. Six years later, she donated land for the Las Vegas Grammar School, which was built in the following year. It was the first public school attended by Native American students from the Southern Paiute Indian Colony. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Stewart died in Las Vegas on March 6, 1926, at age 71.