Glen Ellen is located in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County,
California, USA.
The population was 992 at the 2000 census. Glen Ellen is home
to the Wolf House of Jack London, the location of Sonoma Valley Regional Park
and a raft of excellent fine dining venues and small inns.
Points of interest
Writer Jack London lived in Glen Ellen from 1909 to his death in 1916, where he
devoted much of his time to development of his Beauty Ranch and the building of
his mansion, Wolf House. Many of his novels and stories, notably The Iron Heel
and The Valley of the Moon mention Glen Ellen and Sonoma County. ("The Valley of
the Moon" is a translation of Sonoma Valley's name given by the Pomo and Coast
Miwok peoples.)
The site of his ranch is now Jack London State Historic
Park, which contains the ruins of Wolf House, several ranch buildings, the grave
of Jack and Charmian London, and a museum housed in Charmian London's "House of
Happy Walls."
Glen Ellen is also home to the Jack London Educational Research Foundation and
the Jack London Bookstore.
The Sonoma Developmental Center is located just outside Glen Ellen near the Jack
London ranch. Its predecessor, the California Home for the Care and Training of
Feeble Minded Children, was the setting for Jack London's story "Told in the
Drooling Ward."
As are all the communities in Sonoma Valley, Glen Ellen is home to many
vineyards and wineries. Benziger Family winery, on the road to Jack London State
Historic Park, has an interesting and educational tram tour.
The nearby Quarryhill Botanic Garden is a botanical garden specializing in wild
Asian species from temperate regions, open by appointment only.
The nearby town of Sonoma (approximately five miles) is heralded as the
birthplace of California and contains four (#'s 2, 3, 4, and 7) of the first ten
California Historical Landmarks.
On the other side of Sonoma Mountain, but only about three miles away on the
map, is the Fairfield Osborn Preserve, a diverse ecological study area with
limited access hiking trails. |
