Jack London State Historic Park

  The House of Happy Walls (Museum)    Click image to enlarge

  The Wolf House Ruin   

Jack London's dream house burned to the bare walls on a hot August night in 1913, weeks before they were to move in. Today, an impressive ruin remains to show what a magnificent home it would have been.

From the museum, the trail to Wolf House is a little over a half-mile long and slopes gently downhill. It is recommended that you allow an hour or more for the one-mile trip. The trail wanders through a beautiful mixed forest of oaks, Madrones, California buckeye, Douglas fir, and Coastal Redwoods. Ferns, Manzanita, and a wide range of other shrubs and small flowering plants (Indian warrior, hound's tongue, buttercups, poppies) thrive in this area along with many kinds of birds and other forms of wildlife. 

The remains of Wolf House still vividly remind visitors of Jack and Charmian's original dream. Stone walls complete with window openings, fireplaces, and other details appear little changed by the passage of time. They make it easy to see how grand the house was intended to be. 

Native materials were chosen and carefully matched to one another - boulders of maroon lava, unpeeled redwood logs outside and redwood paneling inside. The Spanish style roof was dark red and matched the stone walls. The long outdoor pool was to be stocked with mountain bass. Inside, there was a library and above that, isolated from the rest of the house, a large workroom for Jack. A fireproof vault in the basement was designed to house his collection of manuscripts and other valuables. The two-story living room featured a massive fireplace and an alcove for Charmian's grand piano. (The piano can still be seen at the museum). The dining room could seat as many as fifty people, and there were numerous guest rooms. Downstairs there was a big game room for men only. 

The entire house stood on an extra-thick concrete slab that was intended to be earthquake Proof. Double-thick concrete walls were intended to be fireproof. Modern utility systems were installed and every detail of hardware or trim was of the very highest quality, for money was no object The house was supposed to be magnificent.

Over the years, many theories have been advanced about the cause of the fire which destroyed the magnificent Wolf House. In 1995, a team of forensic experts, led by Bob Anderson, visited the site for several days to determine the cause of the fire. Their report concluded that the fire was caused by a pile of rags soaked with linseed oil, which ignited spontaneously on that hot August night in 1916.

The Beauty Ranch Trail

To reach the Beauty Ranch, turn right from the entrance station and park in the upper parking lot.

The Beauty Ranch Trail, approximately one-half mile long, circles through the center of the 1,400 acres of land that London called his Beauty Ranch. Between 1905 and 1916, London planted fruit, grain, and vegetable crops in this area, and raised fine horses, pigs, cattle and other animals as breeding stock. Many of the buildings were designed and built by London as part of his effort to develop and demonstrate new agricultural techniques that could be shared with farmers every where.

    The buildings remaining on the property include the Sherry Barn, originally built by Chinese laborers for the Kohler and Frohling winery in 1884.  London converted it to a stable for his English Shire horses.   

   The Manure Pit was built by Jack in 1914 to store manure for later distribution in the fields.

  The Stallion Barn housed six of London's highly prized shire horses. Both buildings were constructed by Italian stone masons.  Note the appearance off the exterior walls - flat walls built by Chinese and walls with protruding stones were built by Italians.

  The Cottage was London's principal home on the Beauty Ranch. This wood-framed cottage was purchased by London in 1911 along with the Kohler and Frohling winery buildings. It was enlarged after 1911 until it included some 3,000 square feet of living space. Here he wrote most of his later stories and novels.

In 2006, restoration of the cottage was completed and the re-furnished cottage was opened to visitors.  The cottage is now open on week-ends and some holidays.  For a slide show of the cottage interior, click here.

  The main Kohler and Frohling winery building was heavily damaged in the 1906 earthquake. London used the foundation of the ruin and built an upper story wooden building which was used as a carriage house, living quarters for ranch hands, and rooms for his many guests. A fire destroyed the upper stories in 1965.

  The Distillery building, originally constructed in 1888 as part of the old winery, was used by London's ranch hands to store and repair farm equipment. Today, the distillery holds an exhibit for horse-drawn farm equipment used in Jack London's time.  During Jack's time as a farmer, machine-driven farm equipment came into use but Jack preferred horse-drawn machinery.

  Jack London brought an entire blacksmith's shop from Glen Ellen to the Ranch to maintain the farm equipment.  Today, only a small section of wall remains next to the distillery building.

   The Pig Palace, so named by neighboring farmers, was designed by London and built in 1915. Laid out in a circle to save labor, the piggery's central feed house is surrounded by 17 pens. Each family of Jersey Duroc hogs had its own area; a courtyard with feed and water troughs, roofed sleeping area, and a fenced outdoor run. The piggery was designed to efficiently care for prized breeding pigs in a sanitary environment.

  There are two cement block silos, which were erected between 1912 and 1915. The silos stand over 40 feet tall and held silage - fodder, made by cutting up green forage plants.

  Trails beyond the Beauty Ranch trail lead to London's Lake and Bathhouse.  The lake was formed by the building of a stone dam in the hills above the ranch fields. It was kept full by a pipe line bringing water from Graham Creek.  Today, the dam is leaking and the lake itself is badly silted and overgrown with plants.  There is an effort by the Jack London Lake Alliance to raise funds and eventually repair the dam, dredge the lake bed and remove encroaching trees and plants. To learn more, link to the Jack London Lake Alliance web site.

  Next to the lake, Jack built a boat house with dressing rooms. The boat house was restored several years ago.  

Beyond the lake, a trail leads to the summit of Sonoma Mountain.

Park Facilities

- There are no campsites in this park; there is camping at near-by Sugarloaf Ridge State Park.

- Picnic tables and barbecue pits are available; ground fires and portable stoves are prohibited.

- Park hours and general information

- There is ample parking in the park.

On week-end days, there are docent-led walks which offer visitors interpretive talks of the history and ecology of the park.

Park map