Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/06/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Two different places but both close to the Pacific Coast. Here is the Madonna Inn I'm familiar with....fascinating history... Can you imagine Miller once owned a million acres of California? BTW...this is not Henry Miller the writer.. Mount Madonna County Park Campgrounds Preview: Perched atop a ridge within easy striking distance of Monterey Bay and Santa Clara Valley, Mt. Madonna County Park is a fully developed recreation area where young redwood forest veneers dense campgrounds and house ruins whisper memories a hundred years old. The park?s 3219 acres surround the former residential estate of Henry Miller, a wealthy man who once owned more than a million acres of California ranchland roamed by more than a million head of cattle.Miller purchased the land around today?s park beginning in 1859 and eventually owned 13,000 acres of the surrounding slopes. In the late 19th century, Miller converted the highest region of his land?the summit of 1897-foot Mt. Madonna?into a summer family retreat that included a 3600- square-foot ballroom and seven-bedroom house. Miller died in 1916 and Santa Clara County began purchasing parcels of his Mt. Madonna estate in 1927.