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All the United States Nevada Alamo The Black Mailbox

The Black Mailbox

Mysterious meeting place for UFO hunters near Area 51.

Alamo, Nevada

Added By
zackofalltrades
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CAPTION
The mailbox, with lots of graffiti from visitors.   Craig Mirkin/CC BY-SA 2.0
Letters in the top box go to Steve, letters in the bottom box go to Alien.   MartinStr/Public Domain
Border Signs 2018   The Area 51 Rider / Atlas Obscura User
New “Black” Mailbox   The Area 51 Rider / Atlas Obscura User
FLIR Unit Monitors the Border Point   The Area 51 Rider / Atlas Obscura User
The “Camo Dudes” Keep A Watchful Eye   The Area 51 Rider / Atlas Obscura User
NEW mailbox I installed March 23, 2024   The Area 51 Rider / Atlas Obscura User
The NEW Black Mailbox - I paid for the current mailbox, a friend from Vegas installed it. It lasted 2 years before it was stolen, I donated the current one.   The Area 51 Rider / Atlas Obscura User
  nathantwining / Atlas Obscura User
Black mailbox 2022   CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
As of April 2022, the mailbox has reverted to black again.   natesagan / Atlas Obscura User
Steve Medlin’s black mailbox in 1996   Rod Ramsay/CC BY 2.0
The Black Mailbox.   Mr Wilmington/Public Domain
  Logotic / Atlas Obscura User
The Extraterrestrial Highway.   notevenathing/CC BY-ND 2.0
Black mailbox 2022   CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
New “No Drones” Sign on Groom Lake Road   The Area 51 Rider / Atlas Obscura User
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On a deserted stretch of road known as the "Extraterrestrial Highway" between Alamo and Rachel, Nevada,  there is a lone mailbox with the names of two recipients. A larger box is labeled with the unassuming name of "Steve Medlin"; a smaller box is simply marked "Alien."

Known as the Black Mailbox, this isolated postal container would never have garnered any attention were it not for its proximity to a nearby UFO hot spot, Area 51. 

The box has been a popular meeting spot for the extraterrestrial-obsessed ever since the purported former Area 51 employee Bob Lazar said he would bring people to the spot to see scheduled flights of UFOs that had been reverse-engineered by the U.S. government. Over the years, some have come just to look at the plain postal box; others have camped near it for days in the hopes of spotting alien life.

Despite spurious reports of lights in the sky and other such extraterrestrial signifiers, the box's owner, rancher Steve Medlin, does not believe that aliens have anything to do with the sightings. The mailbox (once black, now painted white) is constructed of thick, bulletproof metal and shuttered with massive padlocks, measures taken after alien-hunting fanatics began stealing the rancher's mail and even firing guns at the box.

The smaller box marked "Alien" was added after Medlin got tired of receiving missives directed to visitors from outer space. Alien enthusiasts making pilgrimages to the site often put dollar bills in the box.

Update 2022: The original mailbox has been gone since 2015, and has been replaced.

Update November 18, 2024: The mailbox is gone again.

Related Tags

Monuments Postal Lost Wonders Mail Aliens Area 51 Deserts

Know Before You Go

The mailbox is on the left side of the road if you are heading up to Rachel. The Google maps marker is accurate, so you can't miss it.

Community Contributors

Added By

zackofalltrades

Edited By

CoolCrab, ashree106, Molly McBride Jacobson, dlc31723...

  • CoolCrab
  • ashree106
  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • dlc31723
  • The Area 51 Rider
  • nathantwining
  • siobahn525
  • EricGrundhauser
  • Logotic
  • natesagan
  • fyft8sp64n

Published

August 19, 2016

Updated

November 19, 2024

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The Black Mailbox
Mail Box Road
Alamo, Nevada, 89001
United States
37.457231, -115.482702
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