Ely
Ghost town · Sonoma County, California

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 quadrangle | Cotati |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 42 ft |
| Nearest living town | Penngrove, CA |
| Distance to it | 1.5 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 1701269 |
| Coordinates | 38.27908, -122.66554 |
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
- Denmanghost town · Sonoma County · 0.7 mi
- Coronaghost town · Sonoma County · 1.1 mi
- Cherryghost town · Sonoma County · 4.5 mi
- Donahueghost town · Sonoma County · 9.1 mi
- Madroneghost town · Sonoma County · 9.6 mi
- Yulupaghost town · Sonoma County · 9.7 mi
- Feliceghost town · Sonoma County · 10.5 mi
- Beltaineghost town · Sonoma County · 10.8 mi
- Wildwoodghost town · Sonoma County · 11 mi
- McCauleyghost town · Sonoma County · 11.6 mi
- Wingoghost town · Sonoma County · 12.7 mi
- Roseghost town · Sonoma County · 14.5 mi
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.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
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.