Digital Scholarship@UNLV

The Walking Box Ranch was built in 1931 by legendary silent film stars Rex Bell and Clara Bow. The name of the ranch and brand are symbolic of a camera box on a tripod. During the 1930s, it covered nearly 400,000 acres and supported 1,800 head of cattle. The facilities include a two-story home, barn, caretaker’s residence, guesthouse, swimming pool, tennis court, cactus garden and a covered patio with a built-in barbecue.

The ranch was also known as a rural escape destination for the couple’s famous Hollywood friends, which reportedly included Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, and Errol Flynn. Bell and Bow stayed at the ranch until the mid-1940s, when they separated and Bell pursued a career in politics. He served as Nevada’s lieutenant governor from 1955 until his death in 1962. Rex Bell, Jr. and his brother George grew up at the ranch. Rex Bell, Jr. served as Clark County District Attorney in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The property continued as an operating cattle ranch under Bell and the subsequent ownership of Karl Weikel through the 1980s until it was sold to Viceroy Gold Corporation in 1990. Viceroy used the property to access their local mine and rehabilitated the ranch headquarters to serve as an executive retreat. Since the mid-1990s, the property has changed hands several times and is now located in the midst of an expansive desert tortoise conservation area.

Currently the Walking Box Ranch is owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is jointly managed by the UNLV Public Lands Institute and the Las Vegas Field Office of the BLM.

Future plans for the property include renovations which will be completed in accordance with requirements to place the ranch on the National Register of Historic Places.