Wendover as a weekend getaway offers history, diversion and fun
Getting away for the weekend can be tricky, especially on a college budget.
Located at the Utah/Nevada border on Interstate 80 lies the answer to the getaway blues.
Wendover offers a wide range of activities to appeal to everyone.
“There’s a lot of history that’s out here,” said Chris Melville, director of community development.
For a town that is currently well-known for gambling, there is a rich history behind the lights and slot machines.
The community started in 1906 as a small railroad town for the Western Pacific Railroad, Melville said. The location was chosen over another site several miles away because of the flatness on the land.
Water was piped into the town, but the railroad still saved money by choosing the site, he said.
According to the City of West Wendover’s publication Snapshot, the community boasted a population of 150 people. Wendover became one of the main stops on the route which provided rail service from Salt Lake City to San Francisco.
One of the water towers for the railroad still stands in town, but most other buildings have been removed, Melville said.
Another piece of history that occurred in Wendover was the completion of the first transcontinental telephone line connecting the country from east coast to west coast, Melville said.
But the major history began in the 1940s.
“History-wise, with the military and the testing – the air base is a pretty prominent thing,” Melville said.
According to Snapshot, construction of the base began in November of 1940 and was completed by 1943. The base was the largest in the world with more than 23,000 military personnel. The base was comprised of 668 buildings and covered 3.5 million acres of land.
The number of people on the base gave the town a population roughly three times the currently population, Melville said.
“It was far enough away from anything else so you didn’t have a problem training people,” he said.
According to the publication, the base was used for training bomber crews for World War II.
One of the crews that trained at the base was the 509th Composite Group. The mission of this group was the first atomic mission in military history.
“The 509th Composite Group chose the base because it was isolated – you didn’t have to worry about keeping things secret,” Melville said.
The base is now used as the airport for the town.
Melville said there have been three different attempts to renovate the remaining buildings of the base into a historical site with a museum. The buildings include the hanger built to house the Enola Gay, the bomber that carried the first atomic bomb over Japan. But progress on the projects have been slow due to a lack of funding.
“The whole annexation discussions have brought new light to the idea,” he said.
Melville estimated the entire project will cost $7 million, and may be possible if the two states agree to allow the Utah town to join with West Wendover in Nevada.
With the money coming from the casinos and other ventures, more money is available to allow for the renovation, he said.
“There is no place else in the United States where you can go up in and walk around a World War II base and hanger,” Melville said.
In 1969, the base was deactivated and in 1977 it was given to the city he said. The Operations building currently houses a small museum commemorating the base’s history.
The town today also offers a wide variety of other activities, Melville said.
“The desert is really quiet and it’s a different landscape,” he said. “The cacti and things like that that bloom in the spring are really beautiful.”
Melville said the areas surrounding Wendover offer hunting, hiking and mountain biking.
“Though this area is not one of the best to mountain bike in, it is some of the most difficult,” he said.
For hunting enthusiasts, the area has all types of game from deer, elk and antelope to mountain lion and big horn sheep, he said.
“There’s plenty to do if you go out and find it,” he said. “If you like the outdoors, you just go to the hills.”
If history and the outdoors are not the desired scene, the casinos offer 24-hour entertainment of a different type.
“The gaming side of it is always fun,” Melville said.
According to the Snapshot, the Stateline Casino is the oldest continually operation licensed casino. There are four others located in the town. Melville said another has been proposed.
The town has also provided the scenic backdrop for several major films Melville said.
Among those films are Independence Day, Above and Beyond, Con-Air and the Philadelphia Experiment.
For a little town, there is a lot to do. But best of all is location.
“It’s close – it’s 90 minutes from Salt Lake,” Melville said.