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Ely

Ghost town · Sonoma County, California

Santa Rosa quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1916, 1:62,500)
Santa Rosa quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1916, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Ely is a ghost town in Sonoma County, California. It is one of 19 former communities in Sonoma County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 13th among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Ely as a historical populated place on the Cotati topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 38.2791° N, 122.6655° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleCotati
Elevation42 ft
Nearest living townPenngrove, CA
Distance to it1.5 miles
GNIS feature ID1701269
Coordinates38.27908, -122.66554

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What's there now

Ely is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Penngrove, CA (population 2,123), about 1.5 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 42 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Ely?

Ely is in Sonoma County, California, at 38.2791, -122.6655.

How many ghost towns are in Sonoma County?

Sonoma County, California has 19 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.