Bonanza
The family lived on a thousand square-mile (2,600 km) ranch called the Ponderosa on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada opposite California on the edge of the Sierra Nevada range]. The vast size of the Cartwrights' land was quietly revised to "half a million acres" (2,000 km) on Lorne Greene's 1964 song, "Saga of the Ponderosa." The ranch name refers to the Ponderosa Pine, common in the West. The nearest town to the Ponderosa was Virginia City, where the Cartwrights would go to converse with Sheriff Roy Coffee (played by veteran actor Ray Teal), or his deputy Clem Foster (Bing Russell).
Lake Odessa Area Historical Society
Bonanza was a small town that was a predecessor of Lake Odessa. Started in the 1870s, Bonanza continued until the railroad was constructed and passed through the area that became known as Lake Odessa in 1888. Lake Odessa was about a half-mile to the south of Bonanza, but its proximity to the railway made it the ideal location for commerce. In order to be successful, merchants literally picked up their buildings and moved them into the town of Lake Odessa. The railroad's location and the development of the village of Lake Odessa put an end to the life of the town of Bonanza but laid a strong foundation for Lake Odessa when the businessmen of Bonanza moved to the meet the railroad. Notable items: Cornerstone from the Bonanza School, rocking chair that was brought into Ionia County in the 1930s by the Dexter Family who settled in the area.