Jackson's sister, La Toya, wrote of her experience staying at the ranch during her brother's trial in her 2012 memoir Starting Over. However, Jackson stated he would never live at the property again as he no longer considered the ranch a home and did not return to Neverland. Jackson trial after he was charged with multiple counts of molesting a minor in 2003.
Neverland Ranch was searched extensively by police officers in connection with the People v.
In 1995, Jackson and his then-wife Lisa Marie Presley hosted children from around the world for a three-day World Children's Congress, a series of seminars and workshops on issues facing kids around the globe, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the United Nations. Some of the events that took place at the Ranch included the wedding of Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky in 1991 and the live Oprah Winfrey interview of Jackson in 1993. The master closet also contained a secret safe room for security. There was also a Ferris wheel, Carousel, Zipper, Octopus, Pirate Ship, Wave Swinger, Super Slide, roller coaster, bumper cars, and an amusement arcade. The train was set up in the yard at Neverland behind the main house and had 100 feet of track. The train was manufactured in 2001 from a German company Elektro-Mobiltechnik. There was also a custom-made private electric train that was purchased by Jackson for his own children, Prince, Paris, and Blanket. Huntington replica locomotive made by Chance Rides. The other was a 2 ft ( 610 mm) narrow gauge, with a C. The property included three railroads: one 3 ft ( 914 mm) narrow gauge named "Neverland Valley Railroad", with a steam locomotive named Katherine after his mother ( Crown 4-4-0 (2B), built in 1973), and two coaches. It was Jackson's home as well as his private amusement park, with numerous artistic garden statues and a petting zoo. The arrangement was later rescinded by Jackson in April 1988 and he became the ultimate owner of the property. The property was initially purchased by a trust with Jackson's lawyer, John Branca, and his accountant, Marshall Gelfand, as trustees, for reasons of privacy. Some sources indicate $19.5 million while others suggest it was closer to $30 million. Jackson purchased the estate from Bone in March 1988 for an unknown amount but didn't live in it until 1992. Neverland's train station, Katherine Station, with floral clock He had considered converting the property to a country club but did not do so. Bone later said that in building the house he had ".a desire to express everything I had learned in 15 years of home building.I achieved here all the things I wanted to do in my business but could not". The 13,000 square foot (1,200 m²) main house was completed in 1982, based on a design by Altevers, with formal gardens, a stone bridge, and a four-acre lake with a five-foot waterfall. Bone commissioned the architect Robert Altevers to design the principal buildings on the ranch, and the pair spent two and a half years researching potential designs and ideas. Bone renamed the estate the Sycamore Valley Ranch and moved there with his family. The estate was originally known as the Zaca Laderas Ranch at the time of its purchase by the property developer William Bone in 1981. In 2020, after several price drops, billionaire Ronald Burkle purchased it for $22 million. After Jackson's death, the property was put up for sale in 2015. Jackson left the property in 2005 shortly after his acquittal on child molestation charges and never returned he owned it until his death in 2009. According to Jackson's sister La Toya, he expressed interest in someday owning the property at that time. Jackson first went to the ranch when he visited Paul McCartney, who was staying there during their filming of the " Say Say Say" video in 1983. In 1988, the ranch was sold to Jackson, who renamed it after Neverland, the fantasy island in the story of Peter Pan, a boy who never grows up. Originally named Zaca Laderas Ranch, the estate was renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch shortly after it was purchased by property developer William Bone in 1981. The Santa Barbara County Assessor's office says the ranch is approximately 2,700 acres (1,100 hectares). The Chamberlin Ranch is to the west, and the rugged La Laguna Ranch, is to the north. The ranch is about 5 miles (8 km) north of unincorporated Los Olivos, and about eight miles (13 km) north of the town of Santa Ynez. It was the home and private amusement park of American entertainer Michael Jackson from 1988 until 2005. Sycamore Valley Ranch, formerly Neverland Ranch or Neverland, is a developed property in Santa Barbara County, California, located at 5225 Figueroa Mountain Road, Los Olivos, California, on the edge of Los Padres National Forest.