Jack London’s ‘Beauty Ranch’ : Drive Under Way to Save Writer’s Home

Historians and fans of adventure writer Jack London have kicked off a $1.5-million fund-raiser to restore the author’s crumbling “Beauty Ranch” in California’s Valley of the Moon.

“A good earthquake could knock many of the buildings to the ground,” said Dave Turner of Santa Rosa, head of the newly formed Jack London Restoration Committee. “We’ve decided to do something to restore Jack’s area before it goes to rack and ruin.”

London, who died at his Sonoma County ranch of still-debated causes Nov. 22, 1916, grew a variety of crops, had purebred livestock, kept prize-winning shire horses and built a unique “pig palace” on the land where he spent the last decade of a colorful life that ended at 40.

“Daddy knew the ranch and loved it,” said Becky London, 84, the author’s daughter who now resides in Glen Ellen. “He died in 1916 and the ranch has been falling apart ever since. The restoration plans are perfectly wonderful and workable.”

She said her father’s popularity has never waned, probably because of his straightforward way with words.

“He wrote about real people and he never beat about the bush.”

London, who was born in poverty in San Francisco and who went on to write 191 short stories and 59 books, including “Call of the Wild” and “Sea Wolf,” penned these words about his 1,400-acre spread:

“I see my farm in terms of the world, and I see the world in terms of my farm. Do you realize that I devote two hours a day to writing and 10 to farming.”

Although the Legislature has approved $250,000 to help restore the Jack London State Historic Park, much more is needed, said research librarian Russ Kingman, who owns the Jack London Book Store in Glen Ellen and has written a book on the author that is being published next year in Russia, France and Japan.

“The park is a national disgrace,” said Kingman, who also has a Jack London research center crammed full of almost everything ever written about the turn-of-the century writer. “It just hasn’t been cared for.”

Kingman said the cottage where London lived was in complete disrepair, the carriage house burned down in 1965 and needs to be replaced, the roofs of the concrete silos are collapsing and the horse barns need work.

“The pig palace, famous throughout the world, is in shambles,” he said of a unique piggery designed by London that had a central feeding house surrounded by 17 pens with a courtyard, roofed sleeping area and exercise runs.

Kingman, who has written “The Pictorial Book of Jack London,” said London is still one of the most popular American authors in the world and that visitors from dozens of nations annually trek to the ranch to see his grave.

Admirable Qualities

“I think he’s one of the few writers who deserves to be a hero to young people,” Kingman said. “He exemplifies strength, honesty, and sincerity.”

Turner said 1,500 people showed up in Glen Ellen in October for a festival to kick off a drive to raise the estimated $1.5 million needed to restore the ranch.

“It was a very, very successful day,” Turner said, adding that there’s a renewed surge of interest in London’s writings. The U.S. Postal Service is even getting into the act, issuing a commemorative Jack London stamp next Jan. 12, the 110th anniversary of the author’s birth.

“There are millions of Jack London fans,” Turner said. “He really changed the style of writing an adventure-type of story. He moved it from romanticism to a rough-and-tumble style.”

He said a newsletter is planned for distribution worldwide to people who contribute to the ranch restoration fund.