Cal-Nev-Ari was created in 1965 by Nancy and Everette "Slim" Kidwell, who acquired a 640-acre (260 ha; 1.00 sq mi) section of land from the U.S. government and commenced development of an airport-based community an hour by road from Las Vegas.

In addition to the FAA-designated Kidwell Airport, the community has grown over the years to include a casino, motel, RV and mobile home parks, convenience market, and over 100 residential lots.

[4] It sold for the $8 million price to Heart of Nature, an organic minerals company, which plans to use the water to manufacture sulfur products for farms.

[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2), all of it land.

There were 199 housing units at an average density of 86.5 per square mile (33.4/km2).