The "California Home for the Care and Training of Feeble-Minded Children" was created in 1885 (Stats. 1885, Ch. 156). Originally located in the town of Santa Clara the facilities proved inadequate. In 1889 the William McPherson Hill farm comprising 1660 acres, located near the town of Glen Ellen, Sonoma County, was purchased for $50,000. On November 24, 1891, the physical move was made to the Glen Ellen Site. The name of the institution was changed to Sonoma State Home in 1915 (Stats. 1915, Ch. 60).

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