The Merging of the Walking Box Ranch

In 1931, Rex Bell and Clara Bow, Hollywood movie stars, bought the Woolf Ranch in the eastern part of the Mojave Desert near Searchlight, Nevada. After acquiring the ranch, Rex Bell turned the ranch’s “Box K” brand on its side, because of its similar look to the Hollywood box camera nicknamed the “walking box cameras,” which Rex and Clara had been all too familiar with during their time in Hollywood. Eventually the property was renamed the Walking Box Ranch. The brand represents the merging of two worlds, Hollywood and ranching. The Walking Box Ranch is part of people’s cultural heritage in Searchlight, Nevada and is a physical place where people can congregate to interact with the past. The preservation of the Walking Box Ranch emphasizes the importance of “using” resources or historic environments for three-dimensional teaching tools. The Walking Box brand represents the merging of two worlds; Hollywood and ranching. Collaborating with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas a Public History Workshop was created allowing students to interact with the Walking Box Ranch. Using public history methods, students conducted research and collaborated with institutions to allow historical knowledge of the Walking Box Ranch to reach the public.