The great room at Walking Box Ranch has been restored to its 1930s heyday, when Hollywood stars Rex Bell and Clara Bow lived there.
Just in time for the third anniversary of Avi Kwa Ame’s national monument designation, UNLV’s Public Lands Institute returned the original furnishings — including the couple’s dining table, still marked by hardened gum Bow once tucked beneath her seat.
The home, now a museum and visitor center for the monument on ancestral land near Searchlight, was part of Saturday’s anniversary celebration, which featured tours, workshops and educational presentations.
The free events took place at the ranch from about 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A ticketed after-party fundraiser followed.
“It’s such a piece of Nevada history — in the sense of geology, Native American, and celebrity,” said Rep. Dina Titus, who backed Avi Kwa Ame when it secured its designation in 2023.
When she spoke inside the ranch around noon, a tribal rug hung on the wall behind her. Nearby, artifacts usually kept at the Nevada State Museum were on display, including Bow’s makeup kit, a collar from one of her many dogs, and an old film projector.
In the next room, a converted garage, Sherry Hemmers of Fort Mojave’s Pipa Aha Macav Cultural Society led a Mojave beadwork class, where participants carefully chose beads to add to their creations.
Titus said she hopes more residents of the district she serves, downtown Las Vegas, will visit.
“It’s a hidden gem that a lot of people don’t know about,” Titus said. “So part of the task is just educating people that it’s here.”
Events at Avi Kwa Ame National Monument near Searchlight, Nevada — including guided ranch tours, hikes and speaker programs — typically take place on the first Saturday of every month. More information is available on the organization’s website.
‘Time Travel Through Avi Kwa Ame’
Avi Kwa Ame, also known as Spirit Mountain, is a sacred site for the Mojave, Chemehuevi and Southern Paiute, as well as other tribal nations.
Designated a national monument in March 2023, the area protects these cultural and natural resources while allowing continued recreational and traditional uses.
With more than 500,000 acres of land, it is also home to Joshua tree forests, desert wildlife, and the 160-acre ranch previously owned by Bow and Bell.
The home is built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style and is surrounded by ranch structures, including an ice house, carpenter’s shop, blacksmith shop and a historic barn that the Bureau of Land Management is working to restore after years of structural damage and gradual collapse.
The theme for Saturday’s event was “Time Travel Through Avi Kwa Ame,” which explored the history of the monument. Friends of Avi Kwa Ame, the nonprofit that represents the lands and wildlife, organized the event.
One board member, Demi Falcon, said that it was a “no-brainer” that the land should be recognized and appreciated.
“This is a land that is worth protecting,” Falcon said. “Now that we have more support to kind of grow this organization and protect it for generations to come, I’ll keep working, and everyone on the board will keep working.”
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.
