Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Andrew Ruppenstein
Taken: November 28, 2009
Caption: Beauty Ranch - Jack London's Model Ranch and Farm
Additional Description: In 1905, London originally bought the first 129 acres in the area as a place to live and write in. However, by 1913 he had expanded his holdings to over 1,300 acres, determined to create a model farm, using techniques that many today would consider a part of sustainable agriculture.

In the foreground are a type of Spineless Prickly Pear Cactus, developed by Luther Burbank, that were grown on the ranch as cattle fodder. In Hawaii, London had seen well-fed cattle that had cactus as part of their diet. London's experiment failed, as there were more efficient fodder crops.

In the back ground, left to right, are the stable (formerly the sherry distillery for the Kohler and Frohling Winery, built 1884), a building for processing and holding manure, and a barn for London's thoroughbred Shire stallions.
Submitted: December 1, 2009, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
Database Locator Identification Number: p87974
File Size: 1.585 Megabytes

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