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Sonoma County Genealogy

Glen Ellen

  • Genealogy
  • About The Town
  • People & Other Entities
  • Maps
  • Photos
  • Citations
Table of Contents

Glen Ellen is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, 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 (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. Glen Ellen is about 6 miles (9.7 km) northwest of the city of Sonoma. The United States Census Bureau fixes the total area at 2.1 square miles (5.4 km2), 99.95% of it land and 0.05% covered by water. Sonoma Creek, the principal river of the Sonoma Valley, flows through Glen Ellen. [1]



Genealogy


Gedcom Index for Glen Ellen, CA. . . . Link

Surnames: Cook 


GenealogyOnline:  About the Town Glen Ellen . . . Link

Surnames: Brinkman, Brockman, Burgi, Collins, Cowan, Culbertson, Hersey, Jackson, London,


LDS genealogy.com: Glen Ellen . . . Link


Roadside Thoughts: Glen Ellen California . . . Link


Sonoma County Genealogical Society . . . Link



About The Town


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 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) 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. [1]


 "The Valley of the Moon" is a translation of Sonoma Valley's name given by the Pomo and Coast Miwok peoples. Glen Ellen is located in the Wine Country and is part of the Sonoma Mountain AVA. Like all the communities in Sonoma Valley, 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.  [1]


Glen Ellen
Glen Ellen, a part of the Agua Caliente Rancho was transferred from Lazaro Pine to General Vallejo by grant deed, on Dec 4, 1829. The land was sold several times until bought in 1859 by Colonel Charles V. Stuart. He named his ranch Glen Ellen, after his wife Ellen and the name later came to include the town. Vineyard and winery owner, Charles Justi was the first postmaster of Glen Ellen's post office, which was established in July 1871. He also ran a stage service between the valley towns. The Mervyn Hotel was built in 1885, followed by the Glen Ellen and Riverside Hotels. Joshua Chauvet was the banker of Glen Ellen from 1856. He had a mill and a large vineyard. Jack London State Park in near Glen Ellen. The residences of wine growers Colonel C. V. Stuart and Hon. J. B. Warfield surrounded Glen Ellen. . . . [Archived Website. Link]


American Towns . . . Link


"Digging Our Roots: Notes on Glen Ellen history" [Some Free/Subscription] . . . Bill’s Hardware . . Chef Cardini . . Eldridge Cemetery . . French Colony . . Friendly Circle cookbook . . GE Cannon . . GE Name . . Halloween Parade . . Hippie Hollow . . Junior Farm . . Moran-Goodman Park . . Old bridges . . Pet Cemetery . . Random tales . . Robert Kourik . . SDC . . Sonoma House 


Fire Recovery . . . Article . . . Article . . . Article . . . Article . . . Article . . . 


Glen Ellen Historical Society . . . Link . . . Timeline . . . Stories (Pioneers) . . . Newsletters

The Pioneers: Andrés Höppener, Charles Justi, Charles Stuart, George Watriss, J. B. Warfield, MD, Joseph Hooker, Joshua Chauvet, Lajos Csomortányi, Roulet & Asbury, William McPherson Hill


Glen Ellen Today [Niche] (has a map of location) . . . Link


Glen Ellen Wikipedia Page . . . Link


"How the Village Fair got started, 1988-1990" . . . Article


LocalWiki: Glen Ellen . . . Link (Sonoma Valley)


Permit Sonoma: Glen Ellen . . . Link . . Established 1881-1918 . . Architecture 1840-1945 . . Architecture 2, 1850-1940 . . Prohibition 1910-1920 . . World War II and Beyond 1941-Today . . Famous Residents . . Sources


Sonoma County Life Opens Up: Glen Ellen. . . Link


Sonoma Magazine: Glen Ellen . . . . Link


**Sonoma Valley Expositor (1899-1912) [Newspaper] Viewable sections at . . . Link


TripAdvisor: Glen Ellen . . . Link


WikiVoyage: Glen Ellen . . . Link



Check Sonoma Historian (SCHS) for articles about the towns. . . .  Link



People & Other Entities


Archie Horton . . . Article


Bellevue Hotel . . . Link . . . Pic 1912 . . 


Beltane Ranch: History . . . Link


B.R. Colton: History . . . Link


Dunbar school . . . Link . . . Pic 1925 . . Pic 1957 . . Pic 1958  

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.  [1]


Dr. C. C. O'Donnell's residence Glen Ellen, California . . . Link . . . Pic


Ella Noonan . . . Obit


Elisa Stancil Levine . . . Article


Gaige House . . . Link . . . Article


Glen Ellen Fruit Store . . . Link . . . Pic


Glen Ellen Hotel, Glen Ellen, Calif. # 21 . . . Link . . . Pic . . Pic


Glen Ellen Post Office and Pioneer Saloon . . . Link . . . Pic . . Pic


Glen Oaks Ranch . . . Article

The stalwart 1860s homestead, tucked away off Arnold Drive in Glen Ellen, was the creation of Colonel Charles Stuart, who had arrived in California from Pennsylvania via a difficult crossing on a mule pack train. After he made his money in real estate, Stuart began planting vines on his “Glen Ellen Vineyard,” named for his wife, Ellen.


H.J. Chauvet . . . Link . . . Pic of Home


Hotel Chauvet (National Register #90000117) . . . Link . . . Article . . . Pic . . Pic . . 


Hotel Mervyn, 1880's . . . Link . . . Pic . . Pic 1909 . . 


Jack London [Charmian London] . . . Link . . . Link

Writer Jack London 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 and The Valley of the Moon mention Glen Ellen and Sonoma County. The site of his ranch is now Jack London State Historic Park, 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.  [1]


Jack London Village [and State Park] . . . Link (County) . . . Article


Joshua Chauvet . . . Article


Justi Family . . . Link . . . Article . . Article 


Laurel Glen Vineyard History . . . Link


MFK Fisher’s home near Glen Ellen . . . Article


Olea Hotel . . . Link (County) . . . Home


Quarryhill Botanic Garden . . . Link

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.


Shone's Country Store, Glen Ellen, California . . . Link . . . Pic


Walden & Company Fruit Cannery . . . Link . . Pic . . Pic 1890


Wake Robin Lodge [Edward Biron Payne and Ninetta Wiley Eames Payne] . . . Link . . . Pic . . Pic . . Pic



Maps


Map of Glen Ellen, with boundaries [MapCarta] . . . Link


Map of Glen Ellen [MapQuest] . . . Link



Photos


Calisphere Univ. of California: Glen Ellen Search . . . Link


Glen Ellen Historical Society Gallery . . . Link


Northwestern Pacific Railroad Station at Glen Ellen . . . Pic


Thompson Ranch, Glen Ellen, California . . . Pic . . Pic





Citations:


[1]   Wikipedia contributors. "Bodega, California." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Aug. 2022. Web. 28 Sep. 2022. . . . Link


[2]   "Historical and Descriptive Sketch Book of Napa, Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino: Comprising Sketches of Their Topography, Productions, History, Scenery, and Peculiar Attractions", C.A. Menefee, 1873 . . . Link


[3]  "Historical and Descriptive Sketch of Sonoma County, California" Robert Allan Thompson. L.H. Everts, 1877 - Sonoma County (Calif.) - 104 pages. [Bodega pp 100-101]  . . . Link


[4]   "An Illustrated History of Sonoma County, California: Containing a History of the County of Sonoma from the Earliest Period of Its Occupancy to the Present Time", Lewis Publishing, 1889  . . . Link