About the SeriesThe famous opening scene of Bonanza
was filmed on location at North Lake Tahoe near Incline Village,
and Lake Tahoe was among the outdoor locations used to film the
weekly episodes. The house, both interior and exterior, was
located on a Hollywood sound stage.
Lake Tahoe contractor Bill Anderson worked with the film crews
on location, cutting roads and building fake outbuildings, and
in 1967, he approached the show’s producers and NBC with a
proposal to build an exact replica of the house exterior in
Hollywood, with a copy of the sound stage interior inside,
creating a detailed replica of the fictional ranch house.
Anderson’s Ponderosa opened in 1967. The recreated Ponderosa
became the centerpiece of a western-themed tourist attraction, a
bonanza of a different type.
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Hoss, Ben and
Little Joe Cartwright
Bonanza
The Cartwright family was rough, tough and lived by the law
of the land. Led by their stoic father, Ben and his three sons –
Adam, Hoss and Little Joe made TV history and had millions of
adoring TV fans. In 1959, the series was aired on Saturday
evenings. Bonanza was one of the first series to be filmed and
broadcast in color.
On September 27, 2004, the Ponderosa Ranch’s gates had closed
for good, after the land was sold to Incline Village developer
David Duffield. For fans of the television program, the
following describes what one could see when the ranch was open
to the public.
For fourteen seasons in the 1950s and 60s, fans watched the
adventures of Pa, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe on the program
Bonanza. The fictional Cartwright family lived on the Ponderosa
Ranch at Lake Tahoe, and parts of Bonanza were filmed on its
shores.
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