Neverland Ranch, Private estate in Santa Barbara County, California, United States.
Neverland Ranch is a large estate in Santa Barbara County, California, covering roughly 2700 acres (1090 hectares) and featuring a French Normandy-style main house, several guest buildings, and formal gardens with stone decorations. The main residence spans about 13000 square feet (1200 square meters) and sits within a sprawling landscape of woods, meadows, and artificial ponds.
The land was bought in 1981 by William Bone, who called it Zaca Laderas Ranch, before singer Michael Jackson purchased it in 1988 and renamed it Neverland. After Jackson's death, the property changed hands several times and now goes by Sycamore Valley Ranch again.
Jackson named the estate after Neverland, the island of Peter Pan, the boy who never ages. On the third weekend of each month he invited sick children and children from poor families to use the rides and cinema free of charge, sometimes with him. Elizabeth Taylor gave him a 2,500 kg Asian elephant named Gypsy for the zoo, thanking him for hosting one of her weddings there.
The estate is private and not open to the public, so there are no tours or visitor access available. Travelers passing through the area can only view the entrance and surrounding landscape from the outside without entering the grounds.
The station building with its large floral clock, often shown in press images of the ranch, was not the residence but a Disney-style structure on the property. Jackson also kept a chimpanzee named Bubbles at the estate until he became a father.
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