Erle Stanley Gardner

The City of Temecula is nestled in a lush valley about 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean in Southwest Riverside County, just north of the San Diego County line. Besides a thriving wine industry, significant mission history and the distinction of being on the Butterfield Stage route, Temecula was also home to Erle Stanley Gardner. The lawyer-turned-writer, best known for bringing Perry Mason to life through novels, radio, film and television settled in Temecula on a 3,000-acre ranch he dubbed "Rancho del Paisano." Remaining there from 1937 until his death in 1970, he was an inexhaustible writer sometimes dictating 5,000 words to one of his four secretaries before breakfast. He also indulged his outdoorsman spirit by exploring the rugged ranch with his dogs. Join Huell as he strolls the grounds of the former home of Erle Stanley Gardner accompanied by a longtime ranch manager, one of Gardner's secretaries and Gardner's 99-year-old widow, Jean.