The famous ‘Black Mailbox’ cattle ranch located in Alamo, Nevada, and right next to the top secret military installation known as Area 51, has been listed for a cool $4.5 million.
The 80-acre ranch – which comes with cattle and equipment – even has a grazing permit for 250 cows to go onto Area 51, reports Fox News.
A 5,600-square-foot hay barn, 1,248 sq ft animal barn and 576 sq ft shop are all included in the sale.
The ranch also features two manufactured homes, according to the official listing on Allie Bear Real Estate.
Steve and Glenda Medlin, the current ranch owners, apparently worked out a deal several years ago with the U.S. Air Force to allow some of their livestock to graze on Area 51.
Vice author Jelisa Castrodale writes:
"Steve and Glenda Medlin bought the property in 1973, before most people had ever heard of the nearby U.S. Air Force facility. As Mystery Wirereports, a decade-ish later, the Air Force helped itself to 89,000 acres of public land, including some that Medlin had been using for his cattle. 'They say it’s never going to make no difference,' a young Medlin told KLAS in 1984. 'I’d like to see something in writing saying that, but I haven’t got it yet.' (He later worked out a compromise with the U.S. government; they allowed his cattle to enter Area 51, but he had to contact them in advance, using a radio that they provided.)"
The secret military installation, along with the surrounding area, came to prominence when self-described scientist Bob Lazar went public and claimed to have worked at the base. His job allegedly entailed reverse-engineering technology found on nine extraterrestrial flying saucers that were recovered by the Air Force.
Perhaps the most popular attraction on the Medlin ranch is the “alien drop box,” or “black mailbox.”
Many visitors to the area believed the mailbox had something to do with supposed alien sightings, so for decades people have vandalized the mailbox, stolen the Medlins’ mail, left letters for the aliens or even just shot the mailbox, Fox News reports.
"To get tourists to leave their actual mailbox alone, the Medlins replaced the black one with a white, bulletproof mailbox with a padlock. The couple also put up another, smaller mailbox labeled 'ALIENS' and 'DROP BOX.'"