Back to Jack

 It'd been a while since Cay and I have been to Jack London State Historic Park, and we decided to make that our walk for the day. It was pretty hot out there (high of 88) so we limited ourselves to walking to Wolf House and the Londons' grave site, and passed on going to Beauty Ranch.

I've written about this before, so a brief timeline: The Londons had contracted the building of Wolf House, and in the mean while lived in a small cottage on the property.  Shortly before they were to move in, Wolf House burned down, leaving only the stone shell.  The theory is that the fire was started accidently with a workers rag that had been soaked in some flammable material.  Jack London wanted to rebuild, but he was sick, and died 3 years later of kidney failure.  His wife then had her permanent home built on the property, a much smaller version of Wolf House: The House of Happy Walls, whose walls were made of the same stone as Wolf House. When she died she was buried beside him on a hill above Wolf House, the same site where the children of some early settlers' children had been buried long before.

First: photos from The House of Happy Walls 

"In case of my death, it is my wish that my home, "House with Happy Walls", is not to be lived in by anyone except a caretaker. This building and its arrangements are peculiarly an expression of myself and its ultimate purpose is that of a museum to Jack London and myself."
- Charmian London. Handwritten note in her will.


The House of Happy Walls is now the Jack London Museum, containing artifacts, information and a bookstore relating to the life and writings of Jack London, as well as his wife, Charmian. 


While the cottage at Beauty Ranch, at the other end of the park, retains artifacts and furnishings that are representative (if not original) to their life together in Glen Ellen, this is absolutely set up as a museum, and the only real bits of life as it was in the home can be found in Charmian's closet and a peek through a room at the old kitchen.




The closets and the back room leading to the kitchen are not accessible to the public, but viewed through large windows.

We spent very little time in the museum, wanting to wander down to Wolf House and Londons' grave site.  Wolf House is nestled in the redwoods, a short hike from the museum.


a first peek at the ruins of Wolf House through the redwoods

The three story structure had multiple fireplaces and was over 4,000 square feet in area.  The construction was estimated at $50,000, which was a tidy sum back in 1913!



The park system has installed a walkway to view into the building


... as well as numerous supports to keep the structure standing

After leaving Wolf House, we walked back up the hill to the grave site.






A few yards away are the graves of the Greenlaw children:




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