Glen Ellen is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in

Sonoma Valley Sonoma Valley is a valley located in southeastern Sonoma County, California, in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Known as the birthplace of the California wine industry, the valley is home to some of the earliest vineyards a ...

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. It is to the n ...

, United States. The population was 784 at the 2010 census, down from 992 at the 2000 census. Glen Ellen is the location of

Jack London State Historic Park Jack London State Historic Park, also known as Jack London Home and Ranch, is a California State Historic Park near Glen Ellen, California, United States, situated on the eastern slope of Sonoma Mountain. It includes the ruins of a house burned ...

(including the Wolf House), Sonoma Valley Regional Park, and a former home of Hunter S. Thompson. The whole of Glen Ellen was severely damaged by the Nuns Fire during the

October 2017 Northern California wildfires The October 2017 Northern California wildfires, also known as the Northern California firestorm, North Bay Fires, and the Wine Country Fires were a series of 250 wildfires that started burning across the state of California, United States, b ...

History

In 1859, Charles V. Stuart purchased a part of the Rancho Agua Caliente land grant and in 1868 began building a house there, eventually establishing a vineyard he named Glen Ellen after his wife. The town that grew up around the vineyard also came to be called Glen Ellen, and Stuart's home was later renamed Glen Oaks Ranch. In October 2017, the area was badly affected by

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

Geography

Glen Ellen is about northwest of the city of Sonoma. The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

fixes the total area at , 99.95% of it land and 0.05% covered by water.

Sonoma Creek , name_etymology = , image = Beaver Dam Sonoma Creek, Sonoma Thanksgiving 2009.jpg , image_caption = Beaver dam on Sonoma Creek at Maxwell Farms Regional Park in Sonoma, California, 2009 , image_size = 300 , ma ...

, the principal river of the

, flows through Glen Ellen.

Demographics

2010

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Glen Ellen had a population of 784. The population density was . The racial makeup of Glen Ellen was 693 (88.4%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 3 (0.4%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 9 (1.1%) Native American, 16 (2.0%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 3 (0.4%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 18 (2.3%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 42 (5.4%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 67 persons (8.5%). The Census reported that 98.3% of the population lived in households and 1.7% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters. There were 364 households, out of which 74 (20.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 172 (47.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 26 (7.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 14 (3.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 23 (6.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 6 (1.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 122 households (33.5%) were made up of individuals, and 34 (9.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12. There were 212

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

(58.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.67. The population was spread out, with 126 people (16.1%) under the age of 18, 37 people (4.7%) aged 18 to 24, 142 people (18.1%) aged 25 to 44, 376 people (48.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 103 people (13.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males. There were 421 housing units at an average density of , of which 60.4% were owner-occupied and 39.6% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.0%. 60.5% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 37.9% lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 992 people, 340 households, and 219 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 387 housing units at an average density of 185/sq mi (71/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 89.4%

, 1.9%

, 1.2% Native American, 1.2%

, 0.40%

, 2.7% from

, and 3.1% from two or more races. 8.5% of the population were

. There were 340 households, out of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18, 49.4% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 25.0% of all households consisted of individuals, and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.91. The age distribution was as follows: 28.6% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 33.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 120.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $52,143, and the median income for a family was $54,219. Males had a median income of $50,714 versus $35,952 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $22,680. About 11.5% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 16.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

Writer

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

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 ''The Iron Heel'' is a political novel in the form of science fiction by American writer Jack London, first published in 1908.Kershaw, Alex. ''Jack London: A Life''. London: HarperCollins, 1997: 164. Background The main premise of the book i ...

'' and '' The Valley of the Moon'' mention Glen Ellen and Sonoma County. (" The Valley of the Moon" is a translation of

's name given by the

Pomo The Pomo are an Indigenous people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point. One small ...

and

Coast Miwok Coast Miwok are an indigenous people that was the second-largest group of Miwok people. Coast Miwok inhabited the general area of modern Marin County and southern Sonoma County in Northern California, from the Golden Gate north to Duncans Poi ...

peoples.) The site of his ranch is now

, which contains the ruins of Wolf House, several ranch buildings, the grave of Jack and Charmian London, a museum housed in Charmian London's "House of Happy Walls", and a restaurant. Glen Ellen is also the home of several gourmet star restaurants such as: * The Glen Ellen Star * Yeti Restaurant * Aventine * Glen Ellen Inn * The Fig Cafe * The Wolf House * Olive and Vine The

Sonoma Developmental Center The Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) was a large state school in California, United States for people with developmental disabilities, and is located in Eldridge in Sonoma County. Former names for this hospital include California Home for the ...

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." Glen Ellen is located in the

Wine Country Wine Country is the region of California, in the northern San Francisco Bay Area, known worldwide as a premier wine-growing region. The region is famed for its wineries, its cuisine, Michelin star restaurants, boutique hotels, luxury resort ...

and is part of the Sonoma Mountain AVA. Like all the communities in

, Glen Ellen is home to many vineyards and wineries including B.R. Cohn Winery, Benziger Family Winery, Mayo Family Winery, and Valley of the Moon Winery. Quarryhill Botanic Garden, located near Glen Ellen, is a research botanical garden housing with one of the largest collections of temperate Asian plants in North America. Quarryhill's collection includes rare species such as ''Acer pentaphyllum'', ''Cornus capitata'', ''Holboellia coriacea'', ''Illicium simonsii'', and ''Rosa chinensis var. spontanea'', all native to Sichuan, China, as well as extensive collections of various wild Asian dogwoods, lilies, magnolias, maples, oaks, roses, and rhododendrons. Quarryhill is open to the public. Dunbar school is the second oldest school in California. Dunbar School is an elementary school that teaches grades K-5. Their mascot is the Dolphins and it is part of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District.

Government

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

, Glen Ellen is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, Glen Ellen is in .

Notable people

* M. F. K. Fisher, food writer * Albert E. Kahn, journalist, photographer, and author *

Bernie Krause Bernard L. Krause (born December 8, 1938) is an American musician and soundscape ecologist. In 1968, he founded Wild Sanctuary, an organization dedicated to the recording and archiving of natural soundscapes. Krause is an author, a bio-acoustici ...

, musician and soundscape ecologist *

John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter (; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, voice actor, and the head of animation at Skydance Animation. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios ...

, animator, film director, screenwriter, and producer *

, novelist, journalist, and social activist * Hunter S. Thompson, journalist and author * Nikita Ducarroz, BMX freestyle cyclist and Olympic medalist

References

External links

The World of Jack LondonGlen Ellen Historical SocietyFrom Champagne to California (1850)
{{authority control Census-designated places in Sonoma County, California Sonoma Valley Census-designated places in California