Abstract
The Walking Box Ranch Collection (1917-2011) includes material collected by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Public Lands Institute on the Searchlight, Nevada ranch. Materials include a map from the Rock and Springs Land and Cattle Company, a pair of chaps owned by Rex Bell, Jr., and color slides of the ranch. Also included are photographic prints of Rex Bell and Rex Bell, Jr., and newsclippings related to the film and political career of Rex Bell.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The Walking Box Ranch Collection (1917-2011) includes material collected by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Public Lands Institute on the Searchlight, Nevada ranch. Materials include a map from the Rock and Springs Land and Cattle Company, a pair of chaps owned by Rex Bell, Jr., and color slides of the ranch. Also included are photographic prints of Rex Bell and Rex Bell, Jr., and newsclippings related to the film and political career of Rex Bell. A small number of newsclippings pertain to the career of Rex Bell, Jr.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain in original order.
Biographical / Historical Note
The Walking Box Ranch is a 160-acre ranch in Searchlight, Nevada that was owned by silent film stars Rex Bell and Clara Bow from the 1930s through the 1940s. Rex Bell (née George Francis Beldam) purchased the ranch in 1931 from the Rock Springs Land and Cattle Company. The Walking Box Ranch name and cattle brand were inspired by a film making process and motif popular at the time: a box camera mounted on a tripod. The property served as a working cattle ranch, and Bow and Bell had a 5,000 square foot Spanish Revivial home built on the grounds. Rex Bell Jr. (née Rex Larbow Beldam) was born to Bell Sr. and Bow in 1934, and he grew up with his brother George (born in 1938) on the ranch until his parents separated in the mid-1940s. Bell Sr. sold the ranch to Karl "Cap" Weikal in 1951. Rex Bell Sr. went on to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Nevada from 1955 until his death in 1962. Rex Bell Jr. served as the Clark County Deputy District Attorney and also held one term as Lieutenant Governor. He died in 2011. Weikal continued to use Walking Box as a ranch until he sold the property in 1989 to Viceroy Gold Corporation, which used the property as an executive retreat. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) purchased the property in 2005. The ranch was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009 for its association with cattle ranching and its architectural significance.
Sources:
"Screen test," last modified April 2013, http://www.desertcompanion.com/article.cfm?ArticleID=552
"Historical overview and context," last modified June 2008, https://www.blm.gov/epl-front-office/projects/nepa/5201/13961/14062/06142010_WBR_Prelim_Draft_EA_Appendix_A_Hist_Overview.pdf
"Walking Box Ranch," last modified 2013, https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/pli_walking_box_ranch/
Preferred Citation
Walking Box Ranch Collection, 1917-2011. MS-00657. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Material was donated by Dorothy Bell to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Public Lands Institute. The collection was transferred to UNLV Special Collections in 2014 as two seperate accessions. Accession numbers: 2014-055 and 2014-062.
Processing Note
The collection was minimally processed by Karla Irwin in 2014 at the time of accessioning. To prepare the inventory, the described materials were reviewed to create a contents list, estimate dates, and identify material types. In 2018 the map was flattened and encapsulated in mylar for preservation purposes.