The “Bonanza” Map: A Fictitious Place With Very Real Staying Power
For about a week, a map has been hanging in the Imagination Gallery at the Autry that is famous around the world. And yet, it marks a place that doesn’t exist.
An iconic map of an iconic place -- The Ponderosa Ranch (Autry Collections Photo)
The map is of the Ponderosa, the rambling Nevada ranch that was the setting for Bonanza, one of the most successful television Western series ever. NBC audiences from September 1959 to February 1973 saw this map every week in the opening credits of the Paramount Television show. It would appear briefly before it burst into flames, dissolving into a shot of all four members of the Cartwright family, astride their horses, as the memorable theme played.
“We’re talking 14 seasons, 431 episodes,” said Jeffrey Richardson, associate curator of western history and popular culture at the Autry. “Just those numbers alone are staggering. But at the beginning of every single episode, and the theme song that so many people can hum, it all began with a shot of this particular map.”
The show starred Lorne Greene (1915-1987) as widowed father Ben Cartwright; Pernell Roberts (1928-2010) as urbane Adam Cartwright, the oldest son; Dan Blocker (1928-1972) as soft-hearted Eric “Hoss”
A book based on the landmark "Bonanza" television series (Autry Collections Photo)
Cartwright, the middle son; and Michael Landon (1936-1991) as the hot-headed youngest son. The series, mostly shot in a studio, was known more for its family dramas and for addressing contemporary themes than for western vistas and traditional cowboy action story lines.
“That was the number one show for several years on television,” Richardson said. “A lot of families would gather around the television …. Seeing the map was the start of one of their favorite hours of the week.”
The Ponderosa map, correctly oriented. In the gallery, it looks as it did on the show (Autry Illustration)
The map is a beauty, hand-drawn in intense colors for Bonanza creator David Dortort by Robert Temple Ayres, a company employee. But it has a flaw.
When Ayres drew the map, he evidently thought that a fictional ranch didn’t need a terribly accurate map. So he drew Reno to the west of Carson City. Dortort noticed.
“They put it together; they brought it to David Dortort; he looked at it,” Richardson said. “He said, ‘I love it, but your directions are wrong.’”
Looking at it as it was designed, the map shows Reno to the west of Carson City. In reality, Reno sits to the north. To fix it, Ayres drew a compass. But instead of the north arrow pointing straight up as on most maps, it goes off in a vaguely west-northwest direction. To look at the map in its correct orientation, one would have to flip it on its side, with the “horn” of the property pointing upward.
“To justify the inaccurate locations the way they had them drawn, they had to slant the compass a different way,” Richardson
The Better Selling Point: A promotional image for Bonanza showcasing the bright colors of the Ponderosa. David Dortort Collection, Autry Library, Autry National Center; T2006-88-1 (Autry Collections)
said. “It was too late at that particular time in 1959 for them to redo the map, because again, it was hand-drawn, and they were going to start shooting the opening sequence.”
So is the Ponderosa a real place? Certainly Reno, Virginia City, Carson City and Lake Tahoe are. There was the Ponderosa Ranch, a shoot location where some of the filming was done. And Richardson said there was, for some years, a theme park where the Ponderosa would have been. But mainly, it lives in the American imagination.
Richardson said Dortort donated his papers to the Autry about two years ago.
“The archive had been housed at the Autry for several years prior to that,” Richardson said. “The family made the decision to donate the archive to the Autry while Dortort was still alive. A few key pieces, David Dortort held onto, the map being one of those key pieces. The map was in his condo here in Los Angeles and he held on to this.”
When Dortort died in September 2010, the family decided to complete the gift by donating the objects Dortort had kept at his home, including the map.
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[...] out the cultural landmark on display at the Autry National Center, a must-see museum in Los Angeles, chockfull of reel-life and real-life cowboys and much, much [...]
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[...] The “Bonanza” map, which opened the credits for the NBC series that ran from September 1959 to February 1973, for years was one of the most recognized maps in the world. Audiences saw it briefly appear every week before it burst into flames and dissolved into a shot of the members of the Cartwright family riding forth on their steeds as the twangy theme played. It was donated by the family of producer David Dortort and has been hanging in the Autry’s imagination gallery since mid-May. [...]
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[...] original of that map, a hand-painted, monumental work, was donated to the Autry after Bonanza producer David Dortort died in September 2010. It had hung in his home until then. [...]
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[...] into a shot of the members of the Cartwright family on horseback, as the twangy theme played. It was donated by the family of David Dortort, the show’s producer, and has been hanging in the [...]
…Public Invited to Autry Centers Salute to Bonanzas 50th AnniversaryA 50th anniversary salute to the television show Bonanza and announcement of a major archive acquisition by the Autry Center of Bonanza material from David Dortort the shows creator will take place Sept. and will be free with museum admission.Adding to the Autrys significant popular culture collections the David Dortort Archive offers researchers a close look at the business of Western entertainment and the role played by producer and writer David Dortort creator of the television series Bonanza and The High Chaparral. When fully processed the David Dortort Archive will be accessible to the public online in the library catalog and Collections Online the Autrys digital database and available for research through the Autry Library.
Bonanza was great but why did they never change their clothes?
Andrew, I often wondered the same thing! I guess they were sartorially stuck in a rut, huh?
It was to cut down on production cost! That way they could just use some shots over and over like when they’re leaving the Pondarosa heading into Virginia city they wouldn’t have to shoot the journey for every episode.
That was also the reason that Sgt. Friday & Officer Gannon always wore the same suits on every episode of Dragnet.
I know, right? We never thought about it, but if we had, we would have wondered if people in the Old West really just had one suit of clothing. (Probably some did!)
The map of the Ponderosa begs the question of its accuracy.
The Lake’s shape seems wrong. Virginia City too.
The Map’s orientation, North to South, seems off. That’s clear. The key cities are real and reasonably accurate to the map’s non-traditional map orientation.
It would make sense to have the map’s orientation based on the Cartwright’s orientation to their ranch. Opening each show, the map, as it burned away, could have revealed the family’s inclination of how they saw the Ponderosa’s ranch house positioned on the land facing the Lake with the sun shining in from the South, into their and the audience’s eyes, bright and low in the mid-winter sky .
It’s orientation would then represent the Cartwright’s household relationship to the land. How they saw the land, not according to North or South, but toward Lake Tahoe.
To accomplish that the map would need to be sideways and upside down.The direction facing the TV set seen by the audience in their homes represents the same perception or scene seen by the Cartwrights as they ride into Virginia City or, and more likely, away from VC towards their Ponderosa on their Lake.
I get what you’re saying, but I wonder. Even at that hypothetical time, there was a convention of orienting maps and putting a cartographer’s rose on them to indicate that orientation. And it was usually East or North. I suppose a hand-made map that the Cartwrights would have made for themselves maybe might not have followed that convention. By the way, did you see, the way we “re-oriented” the map to have the rose pointing north?
At the beginning of each episode we see a man reading a book called “Bonanza”. Is there really such a book?
The map you have attached to this website, posted by luckygrrr may 25, 2011, is NOT the one originally used for the television show. How do I know this, watch the first seasons episodes and you will notice that there are several “tells”.
Where is the original map?
Janet,
This is an image of the original map painted for the show, which is now displayed in our galleries. It was donated by the family of David Dortort, the show’s producer, after his death.
I failed to leave my email address. Please let me know if the “family” knows the whereabouts of the “original” map.
Thanks,
Janet
Janet,
You are welcome to come visit our galleries to take a look at the map.
We used to love going to the Ponderosa set at Lake Tahoe. Until it closed, the hay wagon breakfast were a hit!
Seems that show has good memories for everybody!
Looking at maps of the region, it would seem that the map is accurate except that Marlette Lake is too big, otherwise Wahshoe Lake is close and all the towns and rivers are in the right place. The map is oriented to East by Northeast not North.
Part of our history is gone. If I was a rich person I would bring the Ponderosa, in Lake Tahoe, back the way it was. Hay wagon breakfast, old cars, wild west shoot outs and everything else that would make it authentic. I live close to Sacramento and we visited The Ponderosa every year since my children were little. I am sad that I can’t take my grandchildren and that my great grandchildren will not know the history of Bonanza and The Ponderosa. So many of our good down home memories are gone now. They have been replaced with war games, and devices that don’t let our children use their imagination.
The Ponderosa certainly existed in my heart and soul growing up. I was such a Bonanza groupie. I still love the Lake Tahoe area. Great childhood memories.
We loved that place. Sad we can’t go there anymore. We watch Bonanza almost everday. Just sad!!