モダンな設備を備えた美しく歴史的なゲストランチ

It was love at first sight, really. Historic property, 10 fenced acres, two homes, barn, orchard, vineyard, pool, seasonal creek, valley views, oak trees and more. It was a project for sure but that too, drew us in. I have always had a passion for historic restoration and viewed this property as an opportunity to be a steward of an important piece of California history.

Also, our eldest son was nearly two years old at the time we purchased the property. We wanted him, and our second son who soon followed, to grow up loving the land and having the same kind of freedom we both had as a children to roam and explore. At the Ranch, children and grown ups alike have the opportunity to develop a sense of self sufficiency in nature by climbing trees, building forts, collecting eggs and picking the food they will cook eat for their meals.

The Ranch has been inhabited by Californians and our native predecessors for This Humans have lived on this land for thousands of years. Based on stone artifacts found around the property, the land on which the Ranch now sits was likely a camp for the Costal Miwok Indians.

The Ranch on Sonoma Mountain (then 160 acres) was purchased by C.H.W. Bruning, a German immigrant, on June 17, 1876 for $4000. The property was owned by various members of the Bruning family, who sold or divided it until separate parcels over the years until we purchased the original home site in 2007. Around 1910, the Ranch shared a property line with Jack London's Beauty Ranch, as can be seen on maps on display today at Jack London State Park.

The Brunings operated a summer resort called either Waldrue or Brunings Summer Resort from the late 1900s until 1915. Guests traveled by train to Glen Ellen and were then transported via horse and buggy up the mountain. Wives and children would often come for the week while husbands would often travel from the City just for the weekend. Guest accommodations included dozens of platform tents dotting the landscape and a cottage, what we now call The Cottage on Sonoma Mountain. Dining and entertainment was offered in the main house which still stands near Sonoma Mountain Road. Guests can view the original guest book from Bruning's Summer Resort during their stay.

Prunes were the primary crop through the prohibition. One French prune tree remains from the original prune orchard. During this time the Brunings also tried their hand at poultry farming and raised white leghorn chickens. In 1946, the Brunings installed a concrete pool which served the triple purpose of recreation, fire protection and irrigation source. The pool allowed the Brunings to plant grape vines for the first time, the same gamay vines that grow today. Rumor has it that one year the family shipped the harvest to Chicago by train where the grapes were sold to Al Capone!