The Sonoma Developmental Center in Eldridge, CA

 I don't have any pictures, because I didn't realize the significance of the Sonoma Developmental Center until we had driven well past it.  We were in the area to visit the Jack London State Historic Park in nearby Glen Ellen.  We drove through the small town of Eldridge and noticed some unusual buildings that I assumed were military-related.  At lunch, my friend and I read about the town and the shocking history of the Sonoma Developmental Center, which was a state-run facility for people with developmental disabilities.  It operated from 1891 to 2018.  It was the site of forced sterilizations of "feeble-minded" people.  There were also studies on residents assessing the effects of radiation.  There is an article on Wikipedia, which describes this and other instances of abuse.  It is horrifying, but not surprising.  I'm old enough to remember when children with any type of disability simply did not attend public school and were shunted away from society.

There appears to be many buildings standing.  I plan to visit the memorial to the 1,500 residents who died of the Spanish flu.  This is painful, but important piece of California and American history.  It deserves the same attention as Manzanar National Historic Site.  I hope the state preserves at least some of the buildings and presents a detailed history, so we can all be more educated about the history of the treatment of people with intellectual disabilities.

The site ties in with the Jack London State Historic Park, because Jack London wrote a short story about the facility, "Told in the Drooling Ward".