Monte Rio, California

Monte Rio is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California along the Russian River near the Pacific Ocean. The town of Guerneville lies east of Monte Rio, and Jenner is slightly north-west. The population was 1,152 at the 2010 census, up from 1,104 at the 2000 census. Bohemian Grove is located in Monte Rio.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²). 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²) of it is land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km²) of it (3.68%) is water.

History

Starting in the 1870s, Monte Rio was a stop on the North Pacific Coast Railroad connecting Cazadero to the Sausalito, California ferry. Portions of the 1942 Academy Award winning film "White Christmas" were filmed at the Village Inn Resort in Monte Rio.

During the second half of the 19th century, the area was heavily logged. However, the Sonoma Lumber Company preserved a 160-acre (65 ha) grove of old-growth redwood trees, which was sold to San Francisco's Bohemian Club in 1899. The club purchased dozens of other parcels in the area, and now owns 2,712 acres (1,098 ha), which it uses for its summer retreats.

Bohemian Grove

Bohemian Grove is a 2,700-acre (1,100 ha) campground located at 20601 Bohemian Avenue, in Monte Rio, California, belonging to a private San Francisco-based men's art club known as the Bohemian Club. In mid-July each year, Bohemian Grove hosts a two-week, three-weekend encampment of some of the most prominent men in the world.

Introduction

The Bohemian Club's all-male membership and guest list includes artists, particularly musicians, as well as many prominent business leaders, government officials (including U.S. presidents), senior media executives, and people of power. Members may invite guests to the Grove although those guests are subject to a screening procedure. A guest's first glimpse of the Grove typically is during the "Spring Jinks" in June, preceding the main July encampment. Bohemian club members can schedule private day-use events at the Grove any time it is not being used for Club-wide purposes, and are allowed at these times to bring spouses, family and friends, though female and minor guests must be off the property by 9 or 10 pm.

Russian River

Russian River may refer to one of the following rivers in the United States:

Russian River may also refer to a brewpub in Santa Rosa, California:

See also

Sonoma County, California

Sonoma County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 483,878. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa.

Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area. It is the northwestern county in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area region.

Sonoma is the southwestern county and largest producer of California's Wine Country region, which also includes Napa, Mendocino, and Lake counties. It has 13 approved American Viticultural Areas and over 250 wineries. In 2002, Sonoma County ranked as the 32nd county in the United States in agricultural production. As early as 1920, Sonoma County was ranked as the eighth most agriculturally productive US county and a leading producer of hops, grapes, prunes, apples, and dairy and poultry products, largely due to the extent of available, fertile agricultural land in addition to the abundance of high quality irrigation water. More than 7.4 million tourists visit each year, spending more than $1 billion in 2006. Sonoma County is the home of Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College.