From Silent Films to Sage Brush
- Lara Cox
- Jun 18
- 1 min read
Desperate for a change of scenery, silent film stars Rex Bell and Clara Bow left the Hollywood spotlight in 1931 to buy a 160 acre ranch in the wilds of Nevada. They named the ranch Walking Box Ranch. Rex said, "This is the last time you are going to see Clara. I'm taking her out of this town, and she's not coming back. I'm going to save her life." They lived onsite in a shack while their Spanish Colonial Revival-style house was built. Clara walked for hours in the desert and joined the local softball team. They bought cattle, hired a ranch manager, and had two sons who learned to ride, pull wire, and fix fences.
I read an article about the ranch near Searchlight a couple of years ago and the story captured my imagination. At the time, tours weren't available so I was delighted to see that they're offering limited tours and even planning events. In fact, they're doing a Clara black-and-white matinee on July 18th and an astronomy night on August 8th.
You can learn more about this fascinating piece of history by touring the ranch yourself! It was definitely worth the hour drive.