Published in the High Desert Advocate in the March 7th, 2018 Edition
Bing Crosby’s Lawson-Ranch
Bing had a major thing for wide open spaces. A northeast Nevada ranch once owned by Bing Crosby, the entertainer known for such classics as “White Christmas,” “Holiday Inn,” and, appropriately, one of the crooners who sang “Don’t Fence Me In,” has hit the real estate market for $7.28 million. “It was a place for his boys to come and experience something outside Hollywood,” said Toni Mendive, the archivist of the Northeastern Nevada Museum. In fact, Crosby owned several properties in the area during the 1940s and 1950s, and would frequently visit to ride horses on his properties.
Crosby’s former ranch, dubbed “Lawson Ranch,” encompasses just under 3,000 acres, according to a listing on Outdoor Properties of Nevada. The property near Elko contains four homes – including a nearly 5,000-square-foot main house which has been converted to a bed-and-breakfast – as well as a shed, two hay barns (complete with six operational hay pivots) and a heated, on-site repair “shop.”
In addition, a private airstrip and airplane hangar are located on the property, according to the listing.
The land itself also butts up against the Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest, and sits at the foot of the Independence Mountains. Listing agent Todd Renfrew describes it as “the quintessential turnkey western cattle ranch.” Crosby, who was made the honorary mayor of Elko in 1948, had first taken an interest in the area in the mid-1940s, eventually purchasing seven ranches in the area, and visited frequently with his four sons, even paying them to work the land.
The Oscar-winning actor eventually sold each of the properties when is sons expressed no interest in overseeing the land. Crosby passed in 1977 at 74.
Renfrew, the listing agent, has declined to name the current owner of the property. The listing stipulates that Lawson Ranch is currently operational, however, and last changed hands in 2010.
