Timothy Leary’s LSD ranch is for sale in the San Jacinto Mountains
This 80-acre desert dwelling tucked away in the San Jacinto Mountains seems innocuous enough, but it once played host to a multimillion-dollar LSD operation known as the Brotherhood of Eternal Love.
It’s called Fobes Ranch, and it’s on the market for $1.495 million.
Led by Timothy Leary – the famed psychologist and drug enthusiast responsible for the Concord Prison Experiment – the brotherhood descended upon the retreat in the late ‘60s. Also known as the Hippie Mafia, the group of 30-or-so surfers and friends reportedly used the Mountain Center residence to take and manufacture LSD, as well as worship nature amid the mountain-lined landscape.
Leary and his wife, Rosemary, lived in a bungalow, while others populated teepees across the land.
Today, the ranch stands as the only private property in Duchess Canyon, according to the listing. Structures include a two-bedroom home, guesthouse, workshop, barn and two-car garage, with a total of 2,450 square feet of combined living space.
Entered through double doors, the main residence is anchored by a bright living room with a freestanding fireplace. Other spaces include a kitchen with wood countertops, a master suite with a custom fireplace and a 500-square-foot studio bathed in light from oversized windows.
Lofts are found in the guesthouse and workshop, and the bunkhouse offers two built-in bunk beds. Elsewhere, a pavilion topped with solar panels holds a brick-and-stone fireplace.
For water, two springs feed 4,000 gallons per day into a 70,000-gallon tank.
Timothy McTavish of Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty holds the listing.
Leary, who died in 1996 at age 75, was a clinical psychologist at Harvard University. He’s known for overseeing the controversial Concord Prison Experiment and Marsh Chapel Experiment, which tested the effects of psilocybin, a psychedelic drug, on prisoners and theology students, respectively.
jack.flemming@latimes.com | Twitter: @jflem94
More to Read
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.