USA > California > Napa County > History of Napa and Lake Counties, California : comprising their geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber, together with a full and particular record of the Mexican Grants, also separate histories of all the townships and biographical sketches > Part 25
USA > California > Lake County > History of Napa and Lake Counties, California : comprising their geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber, together with a full and particular record of the Mexican Grants, also separate histories of all the townships and biographical sketches > Part 25
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C. Lemme's Cellar .- This is a small affair, located in the vicinity of St. Helena. The amount manufactured in 1880 was thirteen thousand gallons.
C. Wegele's Cellar .- Another small cellar near St. Helena. The amount made in 1880 being ten thousand five hundred gallons.
" Edge Hill" Cellar .- This is located about two miles west of the town of St. Helena, and is the property of William Scheffler. This cellar was erected by General E. D. Keyes in 1867, and was the first one of any con- siderable size built in Napa County. Keyes disposed of the property
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to General Heath in 1872, and Mr. Scheffler became proprietor in 1879. The original vineyard was planted by a blacksmith, and comprised ten acres of Mission vines. General Keyes planted ten acres more and General Heath added sixteen acres, and Mr. Scheffler has since planted thirty-five acres. The cellar is three stories high, and built of stone, and is 37 x 100 feet in size, and has a capacity of one hundred and seventy-five thousand gallons. This is filled with large oval casks, which will hold on an average about twenty-thousand gallons. In 1880, Mr. Scheffler constructed a large fer- menting house, just west of the cellar. He has all the appliances and conveniences necessary for the prosecution of the business to the best possible advantage. Besides his home place he has several vineyards rented. from all of which his wine-yield is good, and he has become one of the largest wine-makers in Napa County. Has a very fine still in St. Helena, which is operated on the vacuum principle.
B. Tossetti's Cellar .- This is a small cellar of a capacity of eighteen thousand gallons.
A. Rossi's Cellar .- Also a small affair, making only ten thousand gallons in 1880.
. N. Deguoy's Cellar .- He is making wine in a cellar in the western part of the town of St. Helena, where he began in 1878. The cellar has a capa- city of one hundred thousand gallons. There is a still connected with it, having a capacity of three hundred gallons.
Oscar Schultze's Cellar .- A small cellar in the St. Helena District.
E. W. Woodward's Cellar .- A small affair on the estate of Mr. Woodward.
Gila Brothers' Cellar .- A cellar of goodly proportions in the St. Helena District, having a capacity of upwards of fifty thousand gallons.
H. A. Pellet's Cellar .- This cellar was built by Messrs. Pellet & Carver in 1866, and the partnership remained until 1878. The building is partly under ground, or rather sunk into the ground, is two stories high, is 50x60 feet in size. It is estimated that a total of eight hundred thousand gallons have beeen made at this cellar.
Dr. Crane's Cellar .- This cellar is among the oldest in the St. Helena District, and, indeed, in Napa County. It is a double building, having a total dimension of 80x150 feet: There is one underground cellar which is 50x25, and a wing on the main building which is 120x30 feet. On the premises there is a stone sherry house which is 150x40 feet in size, and two stories high, having a capacity of sixty thousand gallons. There is also a distillery with a capacity of two hundred gallons.
E. Heyman's Cellar .- Is located in the southern portion of St. Helena, and was erected in 1879. It is a wooden structure 40x50 feet, and one story high, with a capacity of twenty-four thousand gallons. .
G. C. Fountain's Cellar .- He began business and erected his cellars in
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1876. The building is 45x75 feet, and has a capacity of fifty thousand gallons.
F. Sciaroni's Sherry House .- Is located in the southern part of St. Helena, and was erected in 1880, the building being two stories high, and 28x37 feet. It has a capacity of thirty thousand. The sherry made both here and at the house on Dr. Crane's place, is an excellent article.
J. Thomann's Cellar .- Is situated on the road leading south from St. Helena, at Vineland station, and is one of the most completely arranged cel- lars in the county. He began business here in 1874, and erected his cellar that year, which is 40x100 feet in size. In 1876 he erected a wing 18x100 feet, and in 1880 he built another wing 30x60 feet, and two stories high. The present capacity of the cellar is one hundred and fifty thousand gallons. He began the business of distilling also in 1874, with a copper still of a ca- pacity of three hundred gallons. In 1880 he put up a wooden still with a capacity of seven hundred and fifty gallons. He has a Heald crusher, and all his machinery is driven by steam. The Heald crusher is a very complete contrivance, as it also stems as well as crushes the grapes. The one owned by Mr. Thomann has a capacity of ten tons an hour.
J. H. McCord's Cellar .- Mr. McCord began wine-making in 1871, in partnership with T. A. Gaique, on the place now owned by G. A. Stamer After only a few months the cellar caught on fire, and the building and about thirty thousand gallons of wine were destroyed. He then sold his grapes for the next three years, and in 1874 he made wine in the cellar of W. P. Weaks, at Pine station. For the next four years he used his barn for a cellar, and in 1880 he erected his present building, which is 48x60 feet, and two stories high, having a capacity of one hundred thousand gallons.
Nouveau Medoc Cellar .- Is located at Oakville, and is the property of Messrs. Brun & Chaix. They commenced operations in 1877, with a small cellar, only 20x34 feet in size. Since then they have added to this building, until it is now 160x34 feet, and they have another building near by which is 40x54 feet. They now have a total capacity of one hundred and thirty thousand gallons. They have imported nine different varieties of excellent wine-making grapes from Medoc, France, and have a vineyard of twenty acres planted with them on Howell Mountain.
H. W. Crabb's Cellar .- Mr. H. W. Crabb is the owner of the " Hermosa Vineyards," situated at Oakville station. He is a careful and very success- ful grape-grower, and has one of the largest vineyards of the county. In January, 1868, he purchased the present described tract of land, situated at Oakville, on the line of the railroad, twelve miles north of Napa City, containing two hundred and forty acres, without any improvement except a tenement house and barn. He commenced the planting of vines at once,
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and continued to do so each year until one-half the tract was in vineyard, con- taining two hundred and twenty thousand vines, consisting chiefly of the following varieties: Zinfandel, Malvasia, Burgundy, Chartreuse and Ries- ling, Chasselas, Berger, Hamburg, Tokay, and Muscat. The latter two are generally sold for table purposes, and the others are manufactured into wines and brandies. The production last year was about three hundred thousand gallons of wine, and four thousand three hundred and thirty-eight gallons of brandy. The cellar is constructed of wood, and its capacity about seventy-five thousand gallons. He began distilling in 1878, and in that year made two thousand two hundred and one gallons of brandy; in 1879, six hundred and thirty-three gallons; in 1880, two thousand four hundred and ninety-nine gallons, and in 1881 four thousand three hundred and thirty-eight gallons, making a total of nine thousand three hundred and seventy-one gallons.
J. C. and G. A. Stamer's Cellar .- Is located east of Pine station a short distance, is built of concrete and is forty-four by one hundred and four feet, having a capacity of seventy-five thousand gallons. It was formerly the property of Mr. Gaique.
G. Groezinger's Cellar .- Is a fine large brick building located at Yount- ville, which is one hundred and fifty feet square and has a capacity of about four hundred thousand gallons. He has a fine distillery in connection with it which he built in 1872, having a capacity of six hundred gallons. There are two wooden and one copper stills. All his machinery is run by steam, and he has all the modern improvements and appliances.
Frank Salmini's Cellar .- Is located about six miles north-east of Napa City and is formed by an excavation in the side of the hill. It has a capacity of about fifteen or twenty thousand gallons.
Occidental Wine Cellar-Is the property of T. L. Grigsby, and is built of stone. It is in size 112 x 58 feet and three full stories in height. The first and second stories are used for storing and the third for working and ferment- ing wine. The entire walls are built of stone, nicely dressed and beautifully laid, with four large doors, eight feet square, so as to admit of the passage of wagons for loading or unloading wine and grapes. The total height to the peak is fifty-four feet. The walls are two feet in thickness. The stone was obtained from the foot-hill, at a quarry about one mile distant, and is of the superior building stone heretofore mentioned. The basement, or cellar, in which the wine is stored is well ventilated, and the building is so situated on the hill-side as to enable one to drive on to each floor and on one floor to drive entirely through the building. Grapes are carried by the wagon-load to the crusher on the upper floor, where all the work is done. The juice or winc runs down to the tanks on the next floor, and at the proper time is
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taken down to the basement. The building is capable of storing two hun- dred and fifty thousand to two hundred and seventy-five thousand gallons of wine, besides having ample working room. There are side dormer win- dows, from which can be disposed of easily the waste, pomace, boxes, etc., by a slide which carries them to the ground. The roof is also well ventilated.
In connection with the wine-cellar is a still-house for manufacturing brandy, situated about sixty feet south of, the main building. It is 26 x 28 feet, built of stone.
White Rock Cellar .- Is the property of Dr. J. A. Pettengill and is located six miles north of Napa joining the Napa Soda Springs, and is one-quarter of a mile from the county road leading to the Springs and situated in a little valley containing about thirty acres bottom land, unsurpassed for fertility. Twenty acres of vineyard and six acres of orchard of the finest fruit lays on one of the slopes with a southern exposure The vineyard and orchard rest on a white porous and soft rock, supposed to contain magnesia and which crumbles on exposure to the atmosphere.
He at once set to work and built a stone cellar with a neat wooden building over it and equipped it with everything new, and made, in 1871, two thousand three hundred gallons of wine, which he has since sold for one dollar per gallon.
After this cellar was filled he erected a larger one entirely of cut stone from an inexhaustible quarry found on the ranch. The stone when taken from the quarry can be cut with a sharp axe almost as fast as redwood ; becomes hard on exposure, is fire-proof and looks like granite.
G. Barth's Cellar .- Is located about four miles north-west of Napa City. There are two buildings, both of rock, which are very fine indeed. The one last erected is an especially excellent building. We are sorry not to be able to give figures concerning this cellar, but we visited it two different times, and failed to see the foreman each time.
H. Hagan's Cellar .- Is located north-east of Napa City a few miles, and is a very complete arrangement, though not as large as many in the county. His wine is very excellent, being made chiefly of grapes grown on hill-land.
Uncle Sam Cellar .- P. Van Bever and W. W. Thompson began making wine in 1870, in a building near the First street bridge, where they manu- factured for two years. They then moved to the present location of the Uncle Sam Cellar, corner of Main and Fourth streets, Napa. The building is of brick, and has a capacity of about one-half million gallons. Subse- quently Mr. Thompson sold his interest, and the firm was composed of P. Van Bever, C. Anduran, and C. Carpy ; and in 1881 Mr. Van Bever dis- posed of his interest. There is a distillery in connection with the cellar, which has a capacity of five hundred gallons. It was put up in 1872. In
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1874 a vinegar factory was added to the business, having a capacity of from two hundred to two hundred and fifty gallons a day. The cellar and all buildings connected with it is one hundred and sixty by one hundred and forty-four feet, and two stories high.
G. Migliavacca's Cellar .- Is located near the foot of Brown street, Napa City, and was erected of brick in 1874. It is 100x80 feet in size, and two stories high, and has a capacity of one hundred and fifty thousand gallons. There is a distillery connected with it, having a capacity of four hundred and forty gallons.
Other Cellars .- There are a few small cellars in the county which we have omitted above; but the fact of their existence, and the amount of wine made in 1880, will be found in the table. We feel that we have de- voted a great deal of space to this interest, but not any more than it de- serves, as it is the leading industry of the county, and will doubtless always stand at the head.
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NAPA TOWNSHIP.
GEOGRAPHY .- Napa Township is bounded on the north by Yount Township, on the east and south by Solano County, and on the west by Sonoma County. July 7, 1873, the following boundaries were established by the Board of Supervisors :
Beginning at a point on the Sonoma County line due west of the source of a small creek, on which was situated Fisk's saw-mill ; thence due east to the source of said creek; thence down said creek to its mouth ; thence down Dry Creek to its mouth in Trubody's Slough ; thence north-easterly, passing one hundred yards north of the residence of G. W. Crowey, to the top of the ridge west of Soda Canon ; thence northerly along said ridge to the top of a sharp point on the south side of Rector Cañon ; thence north- easterly, in a direct line to a point on Tebipa or Capelle Creek, one-half mile below the house of George Clark ; thence east to the top of the point north of Capelle Valley ; thence south-easterly along the top of the ridge to the south end of said ridge, near the head of Rag Cañon ; thence due east to the line between Napa and Solano Counties ; thence southerly and westerly along said line to the line of Sonoma County : thence northerly along said line to the place of beginning.
TOPOGRAPHY .- The topography of this township is fully as varied as that of any of the other sections of Napa County. Beginning at the western line, we find it on the summit of a range of mountains. Passing to the east, we come to the Napa Valley, which in this township is much wider than in the ones to the northward. It opens out into a broad open flat a few miles south of Napa City, which is covered with tules. Passing on to the eastward, the remainder of the township is very rough and mountainous, having here and there small and fertile valleys interspersed amid the mountain peaks, such as Foss', Wild Horse, Capelle and others.
SOIL .- The soil of this township is similar to other portions of the county, being very rich and productive in the valleys, and equally well adapted to the production of all classes of fruits, vegetables and cereals. The soil in the tule section is quite rich, and is very productive where there is not too much salt in its composition. The soil of the mountains is the common red detritus from volcanic substances, and is well adapted to the
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growth of the vine. In Browns Valley the soil is adobe, having been formed by the decomposition of limestone, but there is enough sand mixed with it to make the adobe light and friable, and fruits and vines do well in it, which is not common in that class of soil.
GEOLOGY .- Beginning on the west side of the township we find that the mountains are formed mostly of sand and limestone of the Tertiary period. The traveler along the banks of the Hudeman Creek is afforded a magnificent opportunity to study the geological formation of that section. There are large beds of limestone there and doubtless it would burn into quite good lime. The sandstone and shale stratas are also very prominent features of that section, and the nodular formation of the shale is a won- derfully interesting subject of contemplation. Passing down the creek we find the bed of it filled with boulders of lime and sandstone, which are continually triturating and the detritus is forming rich soil of a light adobe nature in the flats below. It is wonderful what great quantities of lime- stone boulders have been collected off from the land in the vicinity of the Salvador Vallejo adobe house.
Passing to the mountains on the east side of the valley we find the great masses of volcanic ash and tufa deposited there upon the occasion of some mighty eruption, and gradually, through the action of ages, formed into solid rock, affording much very valuable stone now for economical purposes. The student of geology will find here a wide field for study and research. Farther on to the eastward these mountains are still of a volcanic origin, there being much trap and basalt in the ranges near the eastern limits of the county.
CLIMATE .- From the "Sketch Book " we extract the following truth- ful statement concerning the climate of Napa and its vicinity : "The lower end of Napa Valley is open to the breezes which sweep inland from the sea during the summer months, and serves to lower the temperature to a remarkable degree. The lower part of the valley south of Napa City being level, is exposed to its direct action, but not to so great an extent as to be disagreeable. The wind is greatly modified in its force and tem- perature in passing over the warm surface of the land, and its effects are felt less and less as it penetrates inland. Probably the ,pleasantest climate is found in and near Napa City. The sea breeze, passing over a long stretch of level land, loses its roughness, and yet keeps down the summer heat, and renders the winters mild. About Napa City the thermometer rarely gets above eighty degrees, although it has been in rare instances as high as one hundred and five degrees. In winter ice is sometimes formed at night half an inch thick upon standing water. Snow is a great rarity
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in this part of the valley. None has fallen except in three instances during the past twenty years, and then to the depth of only a few inches. The surrounding mountains sometimes put on a snowy mantle for a few hours, but it soon disappears." (This was written in 1873, and in December of that year the fourth snow fell, which was to the depth of several inches. Since then several light snows have fallen in the valley.) The smaller valleys being shut out from the sea breeze, are hotter and colder than the Napa Valley.
PRODUCTS-The products of this township are varied, extending to everything that can be grown in a genial, semi-tropical climate. Fruits and vines thrive in Brown's Valley ; cereals in the heart of Napa Valley ; fruits, cereals and vegetables in the southern portion of the township; vines, small fruits and cereals in the mountains and mountain valleys, while vegetables grow everywhere. The future will reveal the fact that it is peculiarly adapted to the growth of the vine, and second to no section in California, except possibly that of St. Helena.
TIMBER .- The timber of this township is not an object of boast among the citizens of it. Along the west line there is quite a belt of redwood, but aside from that there is no timber to speak of, except the oaks and scraggy digger pine.
EARLY SETTLEMENT .- To Don Cayetano Juarez belongs the honor of being the first settler in Napa Township, coming in as early as 1840. He had stock in this vicinity as early as 1837, but his family resided in Sonoma, whither he went of nights. In 1840 he built the small adobe house still standing on the road to the asylum. Here he has since resided continuously, and is now enjoying the fruits of a well spent life, in a neat cottage on his estate. He raised a large family of children.
The next settler was Nicolas Higuerra, who came in and located per- manently in 1840. He had a wicker house, on which was plastered a thick coat of mud, giving it the appearance at a distance of an adobe building. It was thatch-roofed with tules and grass, and was a small structure not more than twenty feet square. It was located on what is known as the Patchett place,not a great distance from the Calistoga avenue bridge. In 1847 he constructed an adobe house to the westward of Napa City, which is still standing. But little concerning this old pioneer is known, except that he was a Mexican, and had a family, two of his daughters being united in marriage to the Berryessa brothers.
Don Salvador Vallejo came in very early, and erected an adobe house at the Trancas, and at the " Big Ranch," as it is called, also. Both of these
J. M. May field,
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Napa Township.
houses are yet in existence, and the one at the Trancas is used as a residence. The one at the " Big Ranch," now the property of G. Barth, is a very large one indeed, being about forty feet wide and nearly one hundred feet long, and two stories high. It is now fast going to ruin, and in a few years at most, nothing will be left to mark the site but a mound of decaying debris. And so the old landmarks are passing away, and the links which bind the present, or American regime to the Spanish-Mexican or past, are disappear- ing, one by one, and soon indeed nothing but the pages of history will be left to tell of the wonderful glory of the olden days of this almost paradise. Neither the people nor their works will long survive now, and the over- whelming tread of American enterprise has all but trampled into nonentity the former occupants of the land, and the few relics of that people will, in another half century, be matters of legend and of history.
It is not known who the first settler, other than Spanish, was in this township. There were probably but few persons up to 1847, and it is not till 1848 that we can learn of any permanent settlers. It will be remembered that George C. Yount's place was the headquarters of the Americans pre- vious to this, and that as a consequence most if not all of them settled on his place as renters, or above it. We will append a list of the pioneers as far as we are able to obtain their names, and where obtainable give the year of their arrival. In 1848 the following persons were in the township : John Trubody, George N. Cornwell, Harrison Pierce, Ralph Kilburn, William H. Nash, William Russell, J. P. Thompson, John Custer, John Adams; in 1849, Peter D. Bailey, T. G. Burton ; in 1850, Dr. W. W. Stillwagon, Thomas Earl, P. D. Grigsby, T. F. Raney, H. N. Amsbury, E. G. Young, Jesse Grigsby ; in 1851, J. H. Howland ; in 1852, W. S. Jacks, A. W. Norton, John M. Davis, John T. Smith; in 1853, W. A. Elgin, J. G. Randall, B. Little, William Middletown, Charles Robinson, C. H. Allen, H. Goodrich, H. A. Pellet, W. A. Fisher; in 1854, Robert Miller, John Watson, and in 1855, William E. Anderson. Of course there are many others whose names have been forgotten by our informants, and then there are others whose names will be found mentioned elsewhere in this work. The reader is referred to the biographical department for further facts concerning the early settlers.
NAPA CITY .- To the visitor at Napa City to-day the statement that only one-third of a century ago the site of the now beautiful city was nothing but a howling wilderness, sounds more like a fable than a reality ; and yet such is the case. That length of time takes us back to 1848-the year in which the first house was erected in the place. Previous to that the whole town-site was a good field of wild oats, which grew in wonderful luxuriance here, owing to the richness of the soil. The original town-plot was planted in beans in 1847, which was the first evidences of civilization
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which the place had ever known. In the short space of thirty-four years what a grand transformation has occurred ! Truly the results and fruits of energetic and well-directed industry are to be found no better developed than here.
At this time (1847) there was not a house in the county except a few adobes, occupied by Mexicans and a few hardy American pioneers, such as George C. Yount and Julian Pope, who had penetrated the mountain fast- nesses which lay between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean and had found a resting place from their journeyings in the sweet valleys of this section. There was not a store, hotel, saloon, church or school within the limits of the county. There were neither roads, bridges nor fences, excepting a few small corrals, one of which was on the rancho of Don Cayetano Juarez, east of the river. There were no buildings near the town- site, except two adobe houses, one occupied by Nicolas Higuerra and situated not far from the present Calistoga avenue bridge, and the other, the resi- dence of Don Cayetano Jaurez on the Tulucay Rancho. The former has disappeared from sight long since, while the latter still remains as a tie, binding the present to the far-away past; not so far away, however, in the matter of absolute time as in the radical changes which have occurred since then. The " Embarcadero de Napa " was established very early, probably before there were any residents in the valley at all. It is known that it was in existence in 1844, for in the early spring of that year General Sutter sent his schooner " Sacramento " to the Embarcadero for lime, which he had purchased of Nicolas Higuerra. William Baldridge and others came to Napa Valley from Sutter's Fort on board the schooner at that time.
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