The World of Jack London Ranch Album

Welcome to Beauty Ranch

“The latch string is always on the outside at the Beauty Ranch.”

In June 1911, Jack London heartily sick of living in makeshift accomodations at Wake Robin, and seeing that the Wolf House would not be completed for at least another two years, made a move that brought him the happiest and richest years of his life; he bought ten acres in the middle of the Kohler vineyards upon which stood an abandoned winery, a broken-down ranch house, and some barns. He put stone masons and carpenters to work adding a comfortable dining room with a huge fireplace, and a broad lounging verandah, then enlarged the kitchen and renewed the bedrooms and sleeping porches. One of the bedrooms he converted into a workshop, lining the walls with shelves for his books and papers and cardboard reference boxes. His small, screened sleeping porch overlooked a secluded tropical garden in front of the house, the rear lounging verandah overlooked a spacious yard and huge barn, part of which he turned into nine comfortable guest rooms for his friends. Nakata became general manager, employing two more Japanese to cook and keep the house clean.

The ranch house was a success from the beginning; it was informal and people could have fun in it. When living at Wake Robin he filled the cabins, tents, and every spare cot with his friends and intimates: George Sterling, Cloudesley Johns, James Hopper, his socialist and anarchist friends, newspapermen, sailors, tramps, and comrades that fitted into no apparent category. Nearly everyone in the artistic, professional, or thinking world that came West spent a few days at what he called Beauty Ranch. In all the tens of thousands of letters he sent out from the ranch, and a goodly portion were to people who were quarreling with him, attacking, or abusing him, he never failed to put at the end, "The latch string is always on the outside at the Beauty Ranch".

DIRECTIONS TO JACK LONDON'S RANCH

So many accepted London's invitations that he had to have circulars printed giving directions to Glen Ellen from San Francisco and Oakland.
Jack London
Glen Ellen
Sonoma County, California - USA
Telephone
Sonoma Suburban 245

We live in a beautiful part of the country, about two hours from San Francisco by two routes, the Southern Pacific and the Northwestern Pacific.

Both trains (or boats connecting with trains) leave San Francisco about 8am.

The pm Southern Pacific train (boat) leaves San Francisco about 4 o’clock.

The pm Southern Pacific train can be connected with at 16th street station, Oakland also.

Write or telephone in advance of your coming, because we are frequently away from home. Also if we are at home, word from you will make it so we can have a rig at the station to meet you.

Be sure to state by what route and what train you will arrive.

Our life here is something as follows: We rise early, and work in the forenoon. Therefore we do not see our guests until afternoons and evenings.

You may breakfast from 7 till 9, and then we all get together for dinner at 12:30.You will find this a good place to work, if you have work to do. Or, if you prefer to play, there are horses, saddles, and rigs. In the summer we have a swimming pool.

Our life here is something as follows: We rise early, and work in the forenoon. Therefore we do not see our guests until afternoons or evenings. You may breakfast from 7 till 9, and then we all get together for dinner at 12:30. You will find this a good place to work, if you have work to do. Or, if you prefer to play, there are horses, saddles, and rigs. In the summer we have a swimming pool.

We have not yet built a house of our own and are living in a small house adjoining our ranch. So our friends are put up in little cabins nearby, to sleep.

Small Wolf

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