P.O. Box 395, Glen Ellen, CA 95442 11775 Sonoma Highway (Hwy.12) Glen Ellen, CA 95442 707-996-6501
Call For Reservations 707-996-6501	History of the BELTANE RANCH
	The BELTANE RANCH was once the territory of the Wappo Indians. In 1837 it was part of Rancho Los Guilicos, a land grant from the Mexican Governor of Upper California to John Wilson and Ramona Carillo de Wilson. By 1878 it was owned by John Drummond, a pioneer California viticulturist and winemaker. In 1890 the Drummond Ranch and surrounding homesteads were purchased by Mary Ellen Pleasant, a legendary figure of old San Francisco. The daughter of slaves, she rose to a position of considerable financial and political power during a very colorful period of San Francisco history. She is credited with helping abolitionist John Brown before the Civil War and with guiding the Underground Railway. Financially astute and socially well connected, Mary Ellen Pleasant managed boarding houses, arranged marriages, operated brothels and numerous other business ventures. Her confidant and partner during these years was Scottish banker Thomas Bell. The name "Beltane" likely refers to Bell as well as the ancient Celtic festival of Beltane, an early May celebration of fertility. Pleasant is thought to have designed and built the ranch house as it exists today. The influence of her New Orleans heritage is evident in the building's graceful and airy architecture.
In 1936 the ranch was purchased by Ralph and Effia Heins. They raised cattle, sheep and turkeys. Mrs. Heins began the gardens and her raspberry patch still supplies the kitchen with fresh berries in early Summer and Fall. The Heins, originally from South Dakota and Minnesota, had come to California in 1905 via a lumber camp in Oaxaca, Mexico. Their marriage certificate hangs in Room #4. In 1970 the Hein's niece, Rosemary Wood, began restoration of the ranch house and opened it to guests, one room at a time. The first vineyards were planted, dry-farmed hillside Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Eventually blocks of Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc were also planted. The first olive groves, planted in 1992, include numerous oil-producing varieties.

In 1975 the Hein's niece, Rosemary Wood, began restoration of the ranch house and opened it to guests in 1980. In 1993 the olive orchards for the production of oil were planted. In 2004 approximately 1300 acres of Beltane Ranch were acquired by the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District. This area included the spectacular eight mile trail that was so popular with our guests and also with many local organizations. Though the county has no immediate plans to open it to the public, the land is protected from any future development. In the last few years an orchard of heirloom fruit trees, asparagus beds and additional varieties of berries have been added to supply our kitchen with fresh produce. Our olive oil is now available at the Olive Press at Jacuzzi Winery in Sonoma and at Oxbow Market in Napa. Our Sauvignon Blanc vineyard in front of the Inn produces fruit for Cakebread Cellars.

The ranch is operated by Rosemary, her daughter Alexa Wood and grandchildren Lauren and Alex Benward. The Inn is managed by Anne Soulier.

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