BMI Newsletters

This collection includes the entire run of The Big Job and Basic Bombardier, newsletters published by Basic Magnesium, Inc. (BMI) between 1942 and 1944. Published primarily for BMI employees, the newsletters cover a variety of topics, from BMI operations and the importance of magnesium production for World War II to the many recreational activities and various townsite services available to employees and their families. At 2 pages, The Big Job focused on the more general aspects of these topics. Basic Bombardier expanded both the length and scope of the newsletter by continuing to provide general topical coverage but also by highlighting the activities and opinions of hundreds of individual employees. These newsletters not only capture the rich historical beginnings of both BMI and the city of Henderson, but they bring to life the ways in which residents of a small town responded to and contributed to World War II. The newsletters unveil unique personal histories and at the same time, provide insight into the kinds of lives led by many Americans during the early 1940s.

BMI Photograph Collection

This collection includes a selection of digitized photographs taken at Basic Magnesium, Inc. (BMI) between 1941 and 1959. BMI, which was located in what would become the city of Henderson, Nevada, produced magnesium for use in World War II aircraft and bombs as well as for use in domestic products. The images in this collection document BMI plant construction, plant operations at both the Henderson and Gabbs, Nevada plant sites, as well as the development of the BMI townsite. Individual employees and residents, both at work and at play, are also featured. Some of these images were published in issues of The Big Job and Basic Bombardier, the newsletters published by BMI for its employees that comprise our BMI Newsletters collection. Cross-references between images and the specific issues of the newsletters in which they appear have been included. Currently, this collection is a work in progress, but it will eventually include over 1,000 images. Keep checking back as the collection grows!

Please note that the six photographs that were in the Memphis Belle Photographs collection have been placed into this collection.

Henderson Home News

Originally published as a special section of the Boulder City News, Henderson Home News (HHN) became a separate publication in 1951. Like many local newspapers, HHN chronicles the life and growth of a city in ways that larger newspapers cannot. It details events in individual residents' lives, from birthday parties to families' vacation plans. It covers local association activities, local political and economic issues, and includes advertisements by locally-owned businesses. This local focus - and the fact that the region had been populated for only 9 years old in 1951 - means that HHN traces an almost complete history of the City's development.

This collection includes every issue of the Henderson Home News, beginning with the first issue published in 1951. This collection is a work-in-progress; recent issues will be added as they become available. Current Henderson Home News publisher, Greenspun Media, kindly sponsors this collection.

History of Henderson Scrapbook Collection

This collection includes scrapbooks that contain newspaper and magazine clippings about the City of Henderson, Nevada and its industrial history. Articles were clipped from local Henderson-area papers such as the Henderson Home News, the Las Vegas Evening Review Journal, the Las Vegas Age, and the Las Vegas Sun as well as from several other non-local publications. The scrapbook creators remain unknown, but it seems likely that many of the scrapbooks were assembled by a local historical society or group. The assembly dates of the scrapbooks also remain unknown, but the articles included in the scrapbooks cover the period between the early 1940s and 1990. The early scrapbooks focus on Basic Magnesium, Inc. (BMI), a defense plant located in Henderson that produced magnesium for World War II, as well as on activities related to national mining efforts, magnesium, and light metal production and use. Later scrapbooks include articles about Henderson-area politics, economics, organizations, and events.

Funding for the digital imaging of the scrapbooks was provided by the City of Henderson. Digitization was performed by the Nevada State Library.

Southern Nevada Maps

This collection contains USGS Topographic Maps and US Army Corps of Engineer maps of various locations in Southern Nevada, dating from 1945 to 1984.

Local History Projects

Henderson Libraries local history project includes photos from Basic Magnesium Industries and St. Rose de Lima Hospital.

Digital Video Projects

This collection contains videos of Henderson Libraries programs hosted both on our YouTube account or our Overdrive account .