An Heirloom with Connections to the California Writers Club Gets its Proper Placement at Jack London State Park

 By Julie Snider

A modern-day connection to Jack London is just a drive away.

London, whose influence contributed to the founding of the California Writers Club, built a home in Sonoma County and wrote extensively at what he described as his Glen Ellen “Beauty Ranch.”

So struck was London with the land’s appeal, he once wrote in 1905 to Oakland librarian Frederick I. Bamford, “. . .once you are here and see it for yourself, you’ll say there’s no place like it in all of California.”

Members of the Centennial Committee of CWC, Sacramento, decided to visit beautiful Glen Ellen. We spent a peaceful Sunday in March on a mission, touring what is now Jack London State Park.

We were grateful for the extensive private tour led by the park’s volunteer coordinator, Susan St. Marie, and volunteer Rich Brumley. Not only did they escort our cadre of members around the property, but they also told rich stories about the exhibits, the Cottage, the Stone Barns, the Pig Palace, and the Silos. We were particularly hoping to satisfy a literary curiosity about the writing chair in his Cottage.

Located just above the town of Glen Ellen in Sonoma County, London and his wife, Charmian, purchased “Beauty Ranch” in 1905 for $6,500. Originally one hundred thirty acres, the ranch grew when the couple bought adjoining farms between 1908 and 1913, giving them fourteen hundred acres.

In 1911, construction began on a 15,000-square-foot home with twenty-six rooms and nine fireplaces. The Londons called it Wolf House and built it in the Arts and Crafts style from local volcanic rock.

Tragically the grand home burned down August 22, 1913, before Jack and Charmian could move in. Spontaneous combustion was the probable cause, traced to oily rags left behind by a worker.

Instead, the couple stayed put in a small wooden building in the middle of the property. They intended for “The Cottage” – as London called it – to serve as temporary housing while they built Wolf House, but after the fire, London lacked the money to reconstruct the larger home.

London’s writing studio in the Cottage includes his famous writing chair – an heirloom of local historical interest to the Sacramento Branch of the California Writers Club.

The provenance of the chair goes back most recently to the 1970s, when Gladys Morse, sister of the Edna Becsey, first president of CWC, Sacramento, and Irene Donelson, another prominent member, gave the original London chair to Jack London Park.

Our tour guide revealed that until Kim Edwards – she is leading the Centennial Committee – called and asked about the chair, the staff was uncertain which of the chairs on site was Jack’s preferred perch.

The guide said its tag was missing. Now, it sits in its rightful spot in front of London’s writing desk, properly identified! CWC, Sacramento members who visit Jack London State Park can take pride in our early-member connection with this important piece of literary furniture.

London’s many overseas travels, combined with the fact that he continued to spend time in his hometown of Oakland, meant that he had limited time to spend at his beloved ranch.

His premature death in 1916 (at age 40) robbed him of his dream of spending years writing at Beauty Ranch. Considering that he wrote fifty novels between 1900 and 1916, one wonders what more he could have produced had his life been longer.

Everyone on this step back in history walked away with a new appreciation of Jack London’s life and vision.

Without his leadership and enthusiasm, it is doubtful that the California Writers Club would have become the enduring literary organization we value today. I encourage every club member to plan a visit to Jack London Park. But, to bring its history full circle, also mark October 18, 2025, on your calendar to celebrate the Sacramento Branch’s Centennial Celebration, at the Northridge Country Club in Fair Oaks.

Feature photo by Tina Stidman.