Historical Tid-bits about Glen Ellen

Historical Tid-bits about Glen Ellen. . Valley of the Moon is a translation of Sonoma Valley's name given by the Pomo and Coast Miwok peoples, the area's original inhabitants. , Many writers and artists have found creativity here. Mary Francis Kennedy (MFK Fisher), excited by the same culinary experience of southern France as Julia Child and Alice Waters, wrote charmingly of her food experience and was part of the movement of Americans beginning to pay attention to food. Hunter S. Thompson, the Gonzo Journalist, lived on Warm Springs Road for six months while writing Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He wrote a memorable story about the Rustic Inn called Night at the Rustic. Jack London and his wife Charmian lived on their beloved Beauty Ranch where Jack pioneered groundbreaking farming methods. Now Jack London Historic State Park, the Beauty Ranch contains the remains of the enormous Wolf House which burned down just before Jack and Charmian were to move in. He died in 1916 in the London cottage on the property Numerous other artists and writers created here too. , Town Bridge - The central town bridge is cement and built in 1939. Before that it was a steel truss bridge, and before that was made of wood. It spans the confluence of the Calabazas and Sonoma Creeks. Site of shady swimming holes in the early 1900s, the creeks now, with protection, are seeing a return of Steelhead Trout, River Otters and Beaver. , Cannon - Next to the Jack London Saloon in the center of town stands an incongruous Civil War cannon. Mounted on a brick foundation next to the flagpole, it was a gift to the town from a General Wagner in 1905. The cannon is an eight-inch Siege Howitzer, model 1861, manufactured in 1862 by the Fort Pitt Foundry, Pittsburgh, PA and weighs over 2000 lbs. It is unknown how it got into General Wagner's possession and transported to Glen Ellen. In 1992, it was about to be sold to a gun collector in New Jersey when townspeople mounted a protest, saving the cannon for Glen Ellen. , Trains -Starting in the 1880s, two train lines served Glen Ellen delivering freight, passengers and visitors from the city. The Northwestern Pacific stopped in Marin county, then in Wingo, Shellville, Vineburg, Eldridge, Boyes Springs, Fetters Hot Springs, etc. and terminated at a turntable north of what is now the Glen Ellen Post Office. Four men would run the engine around on the turntable and head it back toward the city. The Southern Pacific line (known as the Santa Rosa and Carquinez Railroad) had tracks that ran almost parallel to NWP, then proceeded north to run along Sonoma Hwy (now Highway 12) to Santa Rosa. From San Francisco, passengers would take the ferry from the Ferry Buildng to Sausalito, then by stage and later train through Marin and Sonoma Counties for camping and day-tripping. , Marshall's Garage was a blacksmith shop in early Glen Ellen. When autos arrived in the 1920s it became an auto repair shop and now an autobody shop. , O'Donnell Lane Bridge - The delicately arched bridge over Calabazas Creek on O'Donnell Lane behind the Post Office was built for horse and buggy around 1900, and is one of the oldest bridges in Sonoma County. Noticeable are yellow bricks from the Chauvet Brickyard. , London Lodge and Saloon is one of the last of Glen Ellen's eleven thriving drinking establishments from the turn of the last century. With its wooden sidewalk and old brick walls it maintains a feel of the old west. , Poppe Store is on the corner of Arnold and London Ranch Road. The original wooden store was built in that location sometime in the 1880s, serving as a general mercantile store, a post office and a town grocery store, and now a tasting room. The original top floor toppled during the 1906 earthquake, was rebuilt, burned, and finally rebuilt in its present incarnation. , Chauvet Hotel - The yellow brick building in the center of town was for years the Chauvet Hotel, built by Joshua Chauvet, before seeing several incarnations. In the late 1900s the hotel housed George's Three Nations Bar, a dance hall, Italian food by Spagetti Pete and more. By the 2000s, the mortar began to deteriorate and yellow bricks fell on the the sidewalk below. It was retrofitted to strenghten for earthquakes, and now houses several condominiums., Please visit the display of historic photographs placed there by the Glen Ellen Historical Society, or visit their website at: www.glenellenhistoricalsociety.org , Rustic Inn - On the site of what is now the Glen Ellen Village Market stood one of the last of the eleven taverns of Glen Ellen. The Rustic Inn was frequented by such legendary residents as Hazen Cowan, Jack Coffee, and Jack London. It thrived into the 1970s, although later attracting rowdy crowds and finally burned to the ground in 1973. It is here that Hunter S. Thompson wrote his evocative essay "Night at the Rustic" (published August 1967 in Cavalier Magazine)., Jack London Village - A mile south on Arnold is the old Pagani Winery established when wine was sold in gallon jugs, and the original Chauvet Grist Mill powered by a huge waterwheel. Chauvet's grist stones brought from France remain there. Originally built as a sawmill by General Vallejo around 1840, it now houses charming shops and restaurants and drinking establishments, including Mill at Glen Ellen, Yeti Restaurant, Schermeister Wines, 707 Candle Shop, Wine Country Chocolates and more. It's a lovely creek side venue that invites visitors to sit in the shade and enjoy a glass of wine or craft beer.,