Ponderosa Ranch
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The Ponderosa Ranch was the set for the 1960s television show Bonanza. Later, it was turned into an amusement park operated near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, from 1968 until 2004.
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[edit] During the Show
The Ponderosa was originally a set for the popular television program Bonanza. It was supposed to be a 600,000 square mile ranch on the shores of Lake Tahoe, backing up to the Sierra Nevada with a large ranch house in the center of it. Ben Cartwright was said to have built this ranch after moving from the east coast with his two sons, Adam and Hoss. He had started with a small area of land and built up the massive ranch over time. The ranch was about two hours ride from Virginia City, Nevada.
Whether the inspiration for that name was the presence in the area of a great number of Ponderosa pines or whether it was taken from the original Latin meaning of large (root of the English word ponderous) is debated. The exteriors for the TV show were shot here, out of sequence, for an entire season in just a few days' time.
[edit] Trivia
- Only the front of the ranch house was ever shown because a highway ran directly to the right of the house.
- In most outdoor shots, the background is just a painted backdrop.
- The ranch was actually about a two hour ride on horseback from Virginia City. No wonder Sheriff Roy Coffee complained about making the trip out there!
[edit] Creating the Amusement Park
The idea for the amusement park was launched when it was determined that the one sight most visitors to Nevada desired to see above any other, especially visitors to the Lake Tahoe area, was the Ponderosa. Plans were eventually developed to open the set to tourists when it was not in use for the television show.
[edit] The Amusement Park Itself
Parking for visitors was at the highway level; only official vehicles, such as the park's conestoga wagons, were actually allowed up to the top of the ridge where it was located. Depending on the time of day, a park visit could include breakfast; lunch, including a "Hoss Burger", if one was desired, could also be purchased; estimates are that over 3,000,000 of these were sold during the park's existence.
A visit to the park consisted of the wagon taking visitors up being "robbed" by "outlaws", and then disembarking at the main house of the set. Adjacent to the house were the "graves" of the three Cartwright wives, each of whom had borne one of the (half) brothers to Ben Cartwright prior to her death. The house was decorated with a carved figure of Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright sitting at his desk, and of Hop Sing working in the kitchen. The only parts of the house that actually existed were the living room, dining room, kitchen, and office; the stairs led nowhere, as the "bedrooms" were actually located back on a sound stage in Hollywood. Thus, the tour of the house took very little time.
The main attraction was the show's version of Virginia City, which was miles from the real Virginia City but immediately adjacent to the rear of the house set. Here were activities such as a haunted house, panning for gold, amusements based on old-time Wild West shows, and the like, as well as concessions such as the aforementioned "Hoss Burger" (named after the character portrayed by Dan Blocker) and souvenirs, of which one of the most popular was a replica of the map which burned every week during the show's memorable opening.
[edit] The Ponderosa Ranch's Decline
The park remained a popular seasonal attraction for many years after the network run of Bonanza ended; business finally began to dwindle in the late 1990s. The park was permanently closed in September, 2004.
An article in the RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL of September 26, 2004 (Ponderosa rides into the sunset) quoted "co-owner Anderson [son of the original owner]" as saying: "This is the biggest year we’ve ever had", and who estimated 250,000 people visited the Ponderosa during the last spring and summer season.
Anderson said the ranch is being sold because "land values are so high."
