Judge Hiram Graham Bond owned the ranch from 1895 to 1909, and U.S. Senator James d. Phelan purchased it in 1913. The monastery chapel and residence buildings were constructed in 1917 as a permanent monastery for the community of Cloistered Discalced Carmelite nuns, in memory of Mrs. Francis J. Sullivan, Phelan’s sister. The monastery buildings were designed by Maginnis & Walsh, who also designed the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Plans for the chapel won first place at the 1925 Paris International Exposition, and it is considered the most perfect example of Spanish Renaissance ecclesiastical architecture in the New World. The nuns’ residence is known as the Monastery of the Infant Jesus. The converted carriage house and redwood water tower were built before 1860. Jack London, a frequent visitor, used the ranch as the starting locale for his novel “Call of the Wild” and used Marshall Bond’s dog as the hero of the book.
