The Bell Ranch is located in northeast New Mexico, north of Albuquerque and east of Santa Fe. It was acquired by William N. Lane, II, on behalf of Lane Industries, Inc. in a series of transactions from 1970 to 1977. His objective was to reassemble as much of the land that was included in the original Pablo Montoya grant as he could. By the time he died in an automobile accident just outside the Bell in 1978, he had succeeded in purchasing the 250,000 acres that comprise Bell Ranch today.

The Ranch is named after Bell Mountain, located on the ranch and a butte in the shape of a bell, as depicted in the logo at top. A working cattle ranch, it is one of the largest and oldest deeded cattle ranches in the southwest U.S. For the most part, many of the cattle operations today are performed the same as they were over 100 years ago.

The herd currently consists of approximately 3,000 animals of its own cattle breed, “RedBell,” a composite of Gelbvieh, Red Angus, Brahman and Hereford breeds. The breed was specifically developed by the Bell Ranch to produce cattle that possess characteristics that allow them to thrive, prosper and produce high quality beef in the Bell Ranch’s particular environmental conditions. In fact, several institutions of higher learning have partnered with the Bell Ranch to study everything from cattle genetics to grazing habits at the Bell. The Brookfield Zoo, outside of Chicago, has even raised exotic animals at the Bell to study reproductive habits in the wild.

The Bell Ranch also breeds its own horses, which have received numerous awards and are renowned for their spirit, beauty and physical capabilities. In addition, the Ranch offers opportunities to experience old-fashioned “cowboy life” through trail rides and antelope hunts conducted throughout the year. Guests stay in the historic Hacienda, originally built in the 1930’s to host the era’s Hollywood stars such as Clark Gable, Howard Hughes, Roy Rogers and Shirley Temple. Scenes from “Rawhide” and shoots for the “Marlboro Man” ads took place on the Bell. (Several Bell Ranch cowboys were Marlboro Men!)

For more than 100 years, the Bell Ranch had its own post office, one of the oldest in New Mexico. Although now closed, it remains at the Bell along with an extensive museum containing artifacts, clothing and tools used by Bell Ranch cowboys since the mid 1800’s. The Bell Ranch also features its own airport and weather station.

Since 2006, the Ranch has been managed by Bert Ancell.  In addition, Jeffrey Lane, an owner of Lane Industries, lives on Bell Ranch and is active in the operations.