Bing Crosby’s former Nevada ranch sells for $14.2 million

In the 1940s, at the height of his fame as a singer and movie star, Bing Crosby sought refuge from Hollywood by buying a string of ranches in northeastern Nevada. One of those properties, which was a roughly 3,000-acre working cattle ranch in Elko County, has just sold off-market for $14.2 million, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The sale price is about double the ranch’s original pre-pandemic asking price of $7.28 million when it first hit the market in 2019. The deal underscores how demand for large, well-watered Western ranches has surged in recent years, even as the property’s Hollywood pedigree adds a layer of historic allure.A Hollywood escape in the high desertCrosby, best known for hits like 'White Christmas' and his Oscar-winning role in 'Going My Way', owned seven ranches in the Elko area during the 1940s and 1950s. He was a frequent summer visitor to the region and was even named honorary mayor of Elko in 1948, a testament to how deeply he embedded himself in the local community.Like many celebrities of his era, Crosby used remote Western properties as a counterpoint to the pressures of studio life. The open ranges, quiet towns and rugged landscape of northea...