Ponderosa Ranch According to the Andersons, tourists would regularly show up at their gates asking where the Ponderosa was. Smelling opportunity, the Andersons contacted NBC and "Bonanza" creator-producer David Dortort. They proposed turning their small ranch into a theme park. NBC, Dortort, and the cast saw the tie-in as a "bonanza" for everyone. All parties being of one accord, the cast agreed to promos being shot at the ranch site and the Virginia City set - including the nearby Silver Dollar Saloon - for financial consideration. The ads stimulated revenue for the park. The park opened to the public in 1968, complete
Bonanza farms were Mexican immigrants or migrants, known as braceros. European Americans also worked as migrant laborers. Family farmers, with fewer workers to pay and less money invested in equipment, could better handle boom-and-bust cycles. By the 1890s, most bonanza farms had broken up into smaller farms. The Frederick A. and Sophia Bagg Bonanza Farm is located in southeastern corner of North Dakota. The preserved Bagg Bonanza Farm was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2005. H. Drache, The Day of the Bonanza: A History of Bonanza Farming in the Red River Valley of the North (Lund Press, 1965) Bonanza farms