The Bohemian Grove
Where Power Goes to Play
Every July, behind a chain-link fence in a California redwood forest, the most powerful men in America gather for a secret two-week retreat. Presidents, generals, bankers, and tycoons perform torchlit rituals before a forty-foot stone owl — and then the real business begins.
The Manhattan Project was discussed here. Nixon launched his presidential campaign from these clearings. And until recently, most Americans had never heard of it.
1872
Founded by San Francisco journalists and artists. Within a decade, the businessmen had taken over — bankers, railroad barons, and senators replacing the poets and painters.
40 ft
Concrete and steel, built 1929. Houses audio equipment. Voice of Walter Cronkite.
16 days
Every July. ~120 camps. Off-the-record Lakeside Talks by world leaders.
Every GOP
Every Republican president since Hoover has attended. Nixon, Reagan, both Bushes.
The Evidence
The Stone Idol
A forty-foot concrete owl dominates the lakeside stage — hollow, wired for sound, its voice once recorded by Walter Cronkite. Before this shrine, robed figures perform the Cremation of Care each July, burning an effigy of "Dull Care" in a ritual dating to 1881.
The Ritual
Torchlit processions, robed priests, a coffin containing an effigy, pyrotechnics lighting up the redwoods. For 145 years, the ceremony has opened every encampment — a theatrical "banishing of worldly cares" that conspiracy theorists call something far darker.
The Clubhouse
The six-story Bohemian Club headquarters sits just blocks from San Francisco's financial district. Inside: a 611-seat theatre, reading rooms, bars, and a dining hall. The waiting list for membership stretches decades. Dues are substantial. Women need not apply.
Behind Closed Gates
The Founding
San Francisco journalists found the Bohemian Club — a fraternity of artists, writers, and actors. The owl is their symbol. Their motto: "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here." Within a decade, the businessmen arrive.
The Manhattan Project
A secret meeting at the Grove brings together Oppenheimer, Lawrence, and military officials to discuss building an atomic bomb. Three years later, Hiroshima.
Eisenhower Meets Nixon
At Cave Man camp, future president meets future vice president — introduced by Herbert Hoover. Within two years, they're on the same ticket.
Jones Infiltrates
Alex Jones enters the Grove with a hidden camera and films the Cremation of Care. His documentary fuels decades of conspiracy theories about Satanic rituals and shadow governments.
The Thomas Scandal
ProPublica reveals Justice Clarence Thomas attended the Grove for 20+ years as a guest of billionaire Harlan Crow — undisclosed on his financial forms. The Supreme Court adopts its first-ever code of conduct.
Key Figures
Richard Nixon
Called his 1967 Lakeside Talk "the first milestone on my road to the presidency." Negotiated with Reagan under the redwoods. Privately called the club "the most faggy goddamn thing you could ever imagine."
Herbert Hoover
Joined in 1913. Attended nearly every encampment for fifty years. His Saturday afternoon Lakeside Talk was the climactic event of every gathering until his death in 1964. He introduced Eisenhower to Nixon.
The Grove Endures
Every July, the gates open. The most powerful men in America shed their suits, pour their drinks, and gather beneath trees that have seen it all before.
Not a conspiracy. Something more ordinary — and more troubling: privilege, exercised in private, accountable to no one.
Get the Full Book
The complete story of America's most exclusive secret retreat — from its bohemian origins to the leaked membership list.
