Dear Valley of the Mooners: The state will soon build a lockup there for morons who are outcast women, which is to say they are really prostitutes. Most of them will probably have chronic cases of venereal disease. It will be your patriotic duty to cooperate fully to show your support for our troops.
This odd proposition came up during the winter of , as California fully ramped up home front efforts for fighting World War I. Liquor could not be sold within this five-mile radius and brothels were likewise closed under military order. President Wilson expanded this further by declaring areas around shipyards, munition factories, and schools with military prep programs to likewise be temptation-free.
For such women of Northern California, the state was proposing to build a secured building at the Sonoma State Home at Eldridge big enough to imprison As the institution near Glen Ellen was still widely known by its old name as the California Home for Feeble-Minded Children, maybe it was thought there would be fewer objections from locals if the women supposedly were of lower than average intelligence.
When the federal government abolished liquor in the Dry Zones, it helped pave the way for passage of Prohibition after the war ended. The state only considered two locations β both in the Sonoma Valley.
One possibility was the big chicken ranch of J. The other option was the old Buena Vista winery, where Kate Johnson, a philanthropist and noted art collector, had built a room mansion in the s. The state chose Buena Vista and began bringing in women after winning a test court challenge over a single inmate. Battle lines formed. Women-based organizations β the clubs, League of Women Voters, the W.
