Bonnie Springs, a replica of an old western Nevada town, in an undated photo. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Bonnie Springs/Old Nevada founder Bonnie Levinson at her petting zoo in September 1997. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Former Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Corey Levitan, left, teaches 9-year-old Lennon Walker how to use the .22 caliber prop gun at Bonnie Springs on April 28, 2007. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Kelley Bullock, right, rides “Little Gizz” into camp for lunch during the Las Vegas Review-Journal trail ride Friday, April 21, 2006. Some 35 riders along with guides will finish their two-day ride at Bonnie Springs the next night. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Horses stand in a snow-covered field near the Bonnie Springs Motel west of Las Vegas in December 2008. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Bonnie McGaugh, founder of the Bonnie Springs petting zoo, has breakfast at her restaurant, the Bonnie Springs Ranch Restaurant, after making her morning visit to the animals on Tuesday, March 24, 2009, in Las Vegas. McGaugh started the petting zoo in the 1950s with six horses and a couple of goats as a way to give Las Vegas children something to do. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Bonnie Springs founder Bonnie Levinson feeds animals at her petting zoo in September 1997. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Animals at the Bonnie Springs petting zoo in 2008 include a bobcat, pygmy goats donated by Wayne Newton, a South American raccoon, deer, prairie dogs, burros, porcupines, turtles, a woodchuck, hedgehogs and a lynx. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
A train shuttles visitors for free from the parking lot to Bonnie Springs’ Old Nevada town in August 1997. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Bill Miller, aka Buckshot Bill, poses at Bonnie Springs Ranch, Oct. 14, 2003. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Gunfighters Presley “Last Chance Vance” Conkle, left, and Kendall “Hollywood Cowboy” Zobrist put on a show a Bonnie Springs Old Nevada old West town theme park in Red Rock Canyon, July 20, 2005. Owners of the attraction have proposed a 17-house development on 34 acres one-half mile east of the old west town. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Bonnie Springs Ranch, Jan. 9, 2019. (Eli Segall/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The Old Nevada Mining Town at Bonnie Springs, August 1997. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
An old Methodist chapel at the Old Nevada Mining Town at Bonnie Springs/Old Nevada, August 1997. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Bonnie Springs/Old Nevada founder Bonnie Levinson feeds animals at her petting zoo in August 1997. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
South American raccoons at the Bonnie Spring petting zoo in August 1997. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
The petting zoo at Bonnie Springs has been a favorite attraction for families for years. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
The pond at Bonnie Springs/Old Nevada attracts all sorts of aquatic life. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
The petting zoo at Bonnie Springs has been a favorite attraction for families for years. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Roadway flooded over at Bonnie Springs Road, Sunday, July 3, 2011. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Firefighters work to extinguish a wildfire near Bonnie Springs in the Red Rock National Conservation Area Tuesday morning, July 3, 2007. The 400-acre wildfire led authorities to close the 13-mile Scenic Drive and the Red Rock Canyon Visitor Center. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Alan Levinson stands behind the bar of the Bonnie Springs Ranch in 2001. The bar wall is covered with thousands of dollar bills left by visitors. The Levison family are going to take down the money and donate it to Clark County Firefighters Burn Foundation. (Las Vegas Review-Journal file)
Bonnie Springs Ranch, Feb. 24, 2019. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae
There’ll be no more stepping back in time along state Route 159 after Sunday.
No more mock gunfights. No more hangings. No more train rides. No more petting zoo.
Old Town, a replica of an 1880s mining community, will be razed. Gone will be the wedding chapel, saloon and Old West re-enactments that entertained thousands since Bonnie McGaugh and Al Levinson renovated the one-time stopover for wagon trains in the late 1950s.
In their place will be a high-end housing project. The project does include a 25-room motel, restaurant and 5,400-square-foot event barn.
Bonnie Springs Ranch was name for McGaugh, who died at the age of 94 in 2016.
Billed as one of Red Rock Canyon’s “best kept secrets,” Bonnie Springs announced earlier this week it would close .
“Hope your memories are as good as ours and we thank you for your patronage over the years,” was posted Wednesday on the Bonnie Springs Facebook page.
Developers are projecting 20 residential lots that will “not be inexpensive” and they promise homes will blend in with the natural landscape.
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