The adobe building offers a lot of possibilities in terms of providing information to researchers about the former residents of the area, both prior to and following the mid-1800's. The sketch above of the adobe building shows a wooden porch rather than the existing concrete porch, which may have been installed in the 1950's or later. According to experts, concrete and adobe don't mix, for the conrete will contribute to the disintegration of the adobe. That is part of the problem with the building as it is now, so the concrete will be removed during restoration. The adobe was mentioned in Helen Stewart's journals as being used by the Kiels as a general store.
Scientists plan to investigate the makeup and composition of the adobe.
Possible adobe sites were identified during the Phase I Class III Archaeological Survey and Cultural Resource Assessment for the Kiel Ranch, by the City of North Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada, March, 1998. The LBA survey team identified three discrete locations where local outcrops of what appears to be natural clay horizons are present, which could produce a source for additional adobe clays which might be needed in either stabilization or reconstruction efforts at the seven acre site. In this report, investigators recorded over 17 different archaeological and architectural features. We also found that the site contains artifactual marterial from the late Prehistoric, protohistoric and historic time periods and reflects both Native American and EuroAmerican usage. The information in this report will be used by planners to preserve potentially significant archeological resources.