MacMurray Ranch was purchased from the Porter family by famed actor Fred MacMurray in 1941. Fred raised his family on the ranch, and they enjoyed the natural wonders of Sonoma County. Hollywood was work, but the ranch was home for Fred MacMurray. For 50 years, MacMurray Ranch was nurtured under his hand.

The property now known as MacMurray Ranch was originally homesteaded by Colonel George Porter, who returned to the Russian River Valley in 1846 as a hero of the Mexican wars. Porter chose his home in a meadow nestled in a bend of the little stream that became known as Porter Creek, just a short way from where the creek empties into the Russian River. There was good land. Wild oats grew in abundance and wildflowers blossomed after the winter rains.