Florence Lee Jones Cahlan

June 30, 1910 –
August 25, 1985

Florence Lee Jones Cahlan was a journalist, civic leader, and historian who contributed to Las Vegas at mid-century by writing about and preserving the region’s history.

Florence Lee Jones was born in 1910 in Missouri. She spent her youth in Missouri, California and the Dutch East Indies as her father worked for the Dutch Shell Company. She attended the University of Missouri and graduated with a degree in journalism in 1933.

Florence Lee Jones moved to Las Vegas following her graduation and worked as a cub reporter for the fledgling newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She was the first professional woman journalist and the Associated Press correspondent at the paper. Jones became a permanent reporter at the paper and was mentored by John Cahlan who, with his brother Al, was instrumental in the growth of the Review-Journal.

In 1940, Jones married her mentor John Cahlan. The couple shared not only a love for journalism, but had mutual interests in civic activities, promoting Las Vegas, and learning and telling the local history.

Florence Lee Jones Cahlan involved herself in community. She was a charter member of the Service League (now the Junior League), and a board member at both the Clark County American Red Cross and the United Fund. She also worked to improve the lives of the blind and handicapped. She later joined the Jaycees in spite of a national rule barring women from membership.

Her love of Las Vegas and its history was reflected in her column on early Las Vegas life. She was instrumental in establishing the Southern Nevada branch of the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society and she wrote several articles and books on the early history and growth of Las Vegas. She also collaborated with her husband on the book, Water: A History of Las Vegas (1975).

The honors awarded her include being named one of the ten most influential women by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and being named Woman of the Year. She passed away in 1985.

Source:

• Looking Back at Nevada Women [video recording] presented by Clark County Parks and Recreation, 2001.

Photo courtesy of UNLV Special Collections. May not be reproduced without special permission of UNLV Special Collections.