Bonanza
Bonanza is an NBC television western series that ran from 1959 to 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, "Bonanza" is NBC's longest-running western, and ranks overall as the second-longest-running western series on U.S. network television (behind CBS's "Gunsmoke"), and within the top 10 longest-running, live-action American series. The show continues to air in syndication. The show is set in the 1860s and it centers on the wealthy Cartwright family that live in the vicinity of Virginia City, Nevada, bordering Lake Tahoe. The series initially starred Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon and later featured (at various times) Guy Williams, David Canary, Mitch Vogel, and Tim Matheson. The show is known for presenting pressing moral dilemmas.
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.