The ranch that sits at the border of Area 51 is up for sale. In a WGN-TV report, the ranch is popular not only because of its proximity to the secret base but also because of the iconic black mailbox. Ranch owner Steve Medlin said he is moving to a new location, leaving behind a piece of real estate that became hugely popular because of the top-secret Area 51 military base.

Found in Tikaboo Valley in the state of Nevada, the place is a sight to behold, though it might not be a location where someone would want to raise cattle. During the early 1970s, Medlin moved into the valley to build and run a 750-cattle ranch operation with his wife. At the time, there were no buildings, running water, nor other utilities. The husband and wife team knew nothing about the top-secret work being undertaken by the government nearby at a place called Area 51, a label that vanished from maps later on.

During the mid-80s, Medlin recalled the United States Air Force seized some 89,000 acres of land without giving any explanation. The rancher said he used some of that land to graze his cattle. "They say it's never going to make no difference," Medlin recalled, though he also told the Air Force he wanted to see their promises in writing. The rancher and the Air Force eventually worked out a deal, with a provision that required him to first call the base on the radio before letting his cattle roam on some sections of the forbidden base.

However, things became complicated when an anonymous man, later identified as Bob Lazar, revealed on KLAS-TV in Las Vegas that he personally saw nine flying discs while working on alien technology at the secret base. Everything went haywire after that as UFO faithful trooped to Tikaboo Valley to see the secret base for themselves. The visitors also stumbled upon a black mailbox on the nearby highway, which many believed Lazar used to record UFO videos. In reality, rancher Steve Medlin owns the black mailbox.

In a recent interview with Mystery Wire, Joerg Arnu, a Rachel resident and Dreamland Resort webmaster, said people thought at the time that the black mailbox is the postbox of Area 51. "At one point, when I visited the mailbox, I saw that Mulder from The X-Files had signed it. So you know, it became part of Area 51 folklore, and people would still gather there. It was almost like a shrine, it was almost like you had to visit the black mailbox, or your mission is not complete," Arnu said.

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Area 51 Photo: Pixabay

Roadrunners, a group of former employees at Area 51 also made the mailbox a destination for visitors in the area. The organisation is among the thousands of people who went to the valley during the Store Area 51 festivities in 2019, while a huge contingent of law enforcement personnel stood by on the other side of Medlin's Ranch.

Little did the group know, however, several years before the event took place, Medlin moved the iconic mailbox to another location. It is now painted white, though it retained the name of "black mailbox." Today, with the announcement that he is putting up his ranch for sale, it is Medlin's turn to leave the famous area. A listing detail on Allie Bear Real Estate shows the ranch covers an area of 80 acres with an asking price of $4,500,000.