Napa Valley, California
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History of the Napa Valley |
|
Napa Valley, California
|
History of the Napa Valley |
Courtesy of the:
Napa County Historical Society
1219 First Street
Napa CA 94559 (in the Goodman Building)
707.224.1739
2000 B.C. - 1823 A.D.
The Wappo Indians are the sole inhabitants of the Napa Valley.
1823
DON FRANCIS CASTRO and Father JOSE ALTIMURA, under an armed escort led by JOSE SANCHEZ, are the first Europeans to explore the Napa Valley.
182?
Sometime during this decade, GUY FLING becomes the first American to explore the Napa Valley.
1829
KIT CARSON enters the Napa Valley while on a hunting trip.
1831
GUY FLING leads Napa County's first settler, GEORGE C. YOUNT, into the Napa Valley.
1836
The first treaty between the natives and the Mexicans is negotiated.
GEORGE C. YOUNT is awarded the first land grant in the Napa Valley, Rancho Caymus. YOUNT built the area's first permanent dwelling, a wooden blockhouse.
1837
DR. EDWIN TURNER BALE (Bale Mill) arrives in California from England.
1838
A smallpox epidemic rages through Napa County, killing hundreds of Wappo Indians.
1839
Dr. Bale marries MARIA IGNACIA SOBERANES, niece of General Mariano Vallejo.
1840
CAYETANO JUAREZ builds two adobes on his Rancho Tulucay and moves his family from Sonoma to Napa Valley.
1841
DR. EDWIN TURNER BALE becomes a citizen of Mexico and is granted Rancho Carne Humana, which comprises the land between present-day Rutherford and Calistoga.
1844
Colonel JOSEPH B. CHILES, who guided one of the earliest immigrant trains to California, is granted Rancho Catacula in the Napa Valley.
The first landing of a ship in what will become Napa City. The ship is called the Sacramento.
1846
The Bale Grist Mill is completed. COLONEL JAMES CLYMAN, mountain man, arrives in the Napa Valley with his wife, HANNAH and the REASON P. TUCKER family. When DONNER (of the Donner Party) refused to listen to CLYMAN about the danger of following the planned shortcut, CLYMAN and TUCKER came by the longer established trail. Reason P. Tucker leads one of the relief parties when the Donner Party becomes trapped in a Sierra snowfall. Other Napa settlers aid in rescuing the survivors.
John C. Fremont camps in Sacramento. He is bound for Sonoma to revolt against Mexican rule. In Napa he is joined by John Grigsby, William Hargrave, David Hudson, Harrison Pierce, Elias Barnett, Nathan Coombs and Benjamin and Samuel Kelsey. Two days later, Nancy Kelsey (the first white woman to enter California over the Sierras) travels to Sonoma on horseback with her small infants, following her husband, Benjamin.
The Bear Flag Rebellion takes place in Sonoma and the Bear Flag party is formed. The California Republic, with the Bear Flag as its symbol, comes to an end in less than sixty days, when California becomes a territory of the United States.
1847
The Town of Napa is founded by NATHAN COOMBS. The townsite is surveyed by James M. Hudspeth. At the time there are only the two adobe homes of CAYETANO JUAREZ and Nicholas Higuera in the area. Napa's first structure, a saloon, is built by HARRISON PIERCE. a former miller at Bales Mill.
1848
The first general store is built in Napa township by JOSEPH P. THOMPSON, followed closely by a second general store built by GEN. MARIANO VALLEJO and his son-in-law, JOHN FRISBIE.
JAMES MARSHALL discovers gold at Sutter's Mill in Sacramento. Napa City is deserted as residents flocked to the mines. Most of the valley farmers stay on their land.
1849
Napa County is formed as one of California's original counties.
DOCTOR EDWARD TURNER BALE dies on 9 October.
The first school (the second private school in California) is opened in the Napa Valley near Bale's Mill. The teacher is the widowed and orphaned SARAH GRAVES FOSDICK, a survivor of the DONNER Party. She has been brought to Napa Valley by her rescuer, REASON P. TUCKER.
1850
The Dolphin is the first steamship to navigate the Napa River.
The first election in Napa County is held. The officers of the new government are: Judge, JOHN E. STARK; Coroner, FLORENTINE E. KELLOGG; Surveyor, J. E. BROWN; Sheriff, N. MCKIMMEY; Treasurer, RALPH KILBURN.
1852
JACOB SCHRAM buys hillside property just south of Calistoga and plants Napa County's first hillside vineyard. He hires Chinese workers to plant and cultivate the vines under the supervision of his wife, ANNA, while he continues his trade as a barber in Calistoga and White Sulphur Springs.
1853-1865
A drought strikes the Napa Valley.
1853
The newly elected board of supervisors, JOHN HAMILTON, JESSE WHILTON, and FLORENTINE A. KELLOGG, holds its first meeting in the town of Napa on 6 December.
The townships of Napa, Yount and Hot Springs are created.
The community of St Helena is established.
Napa Valley's first church building is erected on property owned by Florentine Kellogg. It is Methodist in denomination and is called The White Church after ASA WHITE, a friend of KELLOGG's and the man who delivers the first sermon.
1856
The Napa County Reporter opens its doors as the county's first newspaper. The first edition is printed on 4 July by ALEXANDER J. COX, editor and proprietor.
1858
A silver rush occurs in Napa County, and the mining era begins.
The first Catholic Church erected in Napa Valley, St John the Baptist, is dedicated by ARCHBISHOP ALLEMANY on 6 November.
CHARLES KRUG produces 1,200 gallons of wine in the Napa Valley using a small cider press.
A telegraph line between Vallejo and Napa is laid.
The first bank is established by J. H. GOODMAN.
The Methodist Episcopal Church is built at 2nd and Randolph on land donated by NATHAN COOMBS.
1859
SAM BRANNAN purchases land in the upper Napa Valley; the purchase includes the land on which Calistoga will be developed. Tulocay Cemetery is established on 48 and 4/5 acres given by DON CAYETANO JUAREZ.
1860
CHARLES KRUG marries DR. BALE'S daughter, CAROLINE. KRUG plants grapes on land just north of St. Helena, on land that had been CAROLINE'S dowry.
The Napa Collegiate Institute opens, the forerunner of the University of the Pacific in Stockton.
Cinnabar (mercury ore) is discovered in the Mayacamas range northwest of Calistoga, by J. Cyrus and A. J. Bailey.
1861
The Phoenix Mining Company is organized to extract mercury from cinnabar.
A severe winter hits the Napa Valley exterminating most of the area's cattle herds.
1863
The Napa Register begins publication.
1864
The Napa Valley Railroad begins operation. The track runs from Vallejo to Calistoga, making stops at Napa, Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, Bello, St. Helena, Barro, Bale and Walnut Grove. When the passengers debark at the end of the line, Mount St. Helena rises majestically before them.
Napa County becomes one of California's leading quicksilver (mercury) producers.
1865
GEORGE YOUNT, Napa County's first Anglo settler, dies at his home at Caymus Ranch on 5 Oct.1866 JOHN LAWLEY begins his toll road from Calistoga over Mount St. Helena to Lake County.
1867
The telegraph line to Napa is extended from Napa to Calistoga.
The Napa City Gas Light Company is incorporated to provide lighting on the streets of Napa; Napa becomes the tenth city in California to be lit by gas.
1869
F. A. Sawyer establishes Sawyer Tanning Company as a wool pullery. A year later his father, B. F. Sawyer leaves Newport, New Hampshire, comes west and goes into business with his son.
1870
The first library in Napa is opened by the Napa Library Association. It holds 1000 volumes.
1872
The Town of Napa is incorporated.
1873
The Seventh Day Adventist Church is organized in Napa.
1874
The Town of Napa is reincorporated as the City of Napa.
The First Presbyterian Church is erected on land donated by NATHAN COOMBS.
The St. Helena Star is founded.
EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE, the "Father of the Motion Picture", is tried in the City of Napa for the murder of his wife's lover. He is acquitted.
1875
The St. Helena Viticultural Club is organized with CHARLES KRUG as its first president.
1876
The Napa State Asylum for the Insane receives its first patients.
1877
The newspaper The Calistogan is founded.
Frederick and Jacob Beringer - Co-founders of Beringer Winery (Photos courtesy of Wine Institute.)
JACOB and FREDERICK BERINGER establish the Beringer Bros. Winery.
1878
The St. Helena Sanitarium is founded by W. A. PRATT, a member of the Seventh Day Adventist faith. Natural healing is stressed.
1879
The Bale Grist Mill grinds grain with its 36-foot waterwheel for the last time.
1880
At 9:20 a.m. on 23 May, ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON and FANNIE VANDERGIFF OSBOURNE board the Napa Valley Railroad day coach in Vallejo and begin the forty-two mile journey to Calistoga. They spend their unconventional honeymoon in a rustic, abandoned shack at the defunct Silverado Mine. They make friends with JACOB SCHRAM and ANNA, his wife, visiting them at their secluded vineyard home, and tasting all eighteen wines produced by the Schrams.
1881
COLONEL JAMES CLYMAN, aged 88, dies and is buried in the Tulocay Cemetery in Napa.
1883
Silverado Squatters and Treasure Island by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON are published. The road to the SCHRAM's Vineyard is described in the former, Mount St Helena is Treasure Island's Spyglass Hill and JOHN SILVERADO is the inspiration for Long John Silver.
The Napa City Water Company is founded by SAMUEL HOLDEN.
CAYETANO JUAREZ dies and is buried in the Tulocay Cemetery on land he had donated to the City of Napa.
1884
The San Francisco Chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) establishes the Veteran's Home. The facilities consist of a kitchen, a dining room, living quarters, sick wards, an office and a chapel.
1885
Southern Pacific Railroad takes over operation of Napa Valley's railroad.
Steam train in the Napa Valley, date unknown. (Photo courtesy of Napa County Historical Society.)
1888
The Palisades Mine begins operation.
1891
CHARLES KRUG dies.
1893
Half of the vineyards in the Napa Valley become infested with the root louse, phylloxera. County's first high school opens in the St Helena Presbyterian Church.
1894
The St. Helena Library opens.
1897
The State of California assumes administration of the California Veteran's Home.
Napa High School is constructed.
Last public hanging in California is at Napa Courthouse. Billie Roe is hanged for the 1891 murder in Napa of Lucina Greenwood.
1901
On May 2, the Goodman Library is opened on property gifted by GEORGE E. GOODMAN. He had been Napa County Treasurer from 1861-1870.
1902
The Calistoga Free Public Library opens. The Napa Valley Railroad Company, an electric railroad, is incorporated and provides service from Benicia to Calistoga.
1903
The Napa Glove Factory is organized. It is the largest glove factory west of Chicago.
1909
500,000 fruit and nut trees are established in the valley by this date.
Pacific Union College, formerly established in Healdsburg, is moved to Angwin. The dedication of the grounds of the accredited four-year liberal arts institution is held on 29 September.
1910
The Shurtleff Hospital, Napa City's first hospital, opens. It is named after DR. BENJAMIN SHURTLEFF.
1915
The loudspeaker is invented in Napa by EDWIN PRIDHAM and PETER JENSEN while they are working to improve the telephone receiver.
1916
The County Library System is established to service outlying communities who have no libraries.
1917
BRUCE LAND of Napa becomes the first Napa County resident drafted in World War I.
A second hospital, the Francis Hospital, is built in Napa.
1920
Prohibition becomes law. Many Napa Valley wineries go out of business.
The Shurtleff and the Francis hospitals are replaced by the Victory Memorial Hospital.
1922
The LAWLEY toll road is purchased by the county. It becomes State Highway 29.
1923
The construction of Milliken Dam is begun.
Calistoga High School opens.
1924
The Napa State Asylum for the Insane is renamed Napa State Hospital.
GIUSEPPE MUSANTE first bottles water. His company will be the forerunner of the Calistoga Mineral Water Company.
1929
Passenger train service ends in the Napa Valley.
Not all train trips were a success. Date unknown. (Photo courtesy of Napa County Historical Society.)
A hospital is built on the grounds of the Veteran's Home.
1932
The Christian Brothers move their novitiate and winemaking operation to the Napa Valley.
1933
Prohibition is repealed.
1939
By this date the Sawyer Tanning Company of Napa is the largest tannery west of the Mississippi.
1942
Basalt Rock Company of Napa launches two U. S. Navy tankers on the Napa River.
1948
Conn Dam is completed.
1950's
Controversial plans announced to flood the Berryessa Valley and community of Monticello as part of the Bureau of Recreation State Water Project. Lake Berryessa is to be used as a recreation area.
1953
5,500,000 gallons of wine are produced in the Napa Valley.
1958
Queen of the Valley Hospital replaces Victory Memorial Hospital.
1963
Over 500,000 people visit the Napa Valley's wineries.
1968
The Calistoga Soaring Center opens.
The County Board of Supervisors creates agricultural preserve zoning restrictions.
1974
The Napa Valley Genealogical and Biographical Society is formed. A library is established and quarters are rented to house the collection.
1976-1977
A severe drought strikes the Napa Valley (and all of California). Water rationing takes place in several of the county's communities.
1980
Voters approve Measure A saving agriculture by restricting growth in the unincorporated areas to 1% a year.
1981
The Calistoga Mineral Water Company is purchased by the French firm, Perrier. Atlas Peak fire consumes 23,600 acres, leading to $36 million in property loss and destroys 31 residences and 36 outbuildings.
1983
Over 400,000 people tour the Christian Brothers Greystone Winery.
1985
The seventieth anniversary of the invention of the loudspeaker in Napa is celebrated.
The Napa Valley Times issues its inaugural edition on July 25.
The premiere edition of the Napa Sentinel is published on September 20.
The Napa Valley Wine Train begins its first run in December.
1986
In mid-February, continuous rain floods valley communities and inundates the vineyards, about a decade after the area experienced a severe drought.
A temporary shelter is provided for the homeless in the Presbyterian Church gym. The Napa Valley Shelter Project is formed in the fall of the year.
1988-1991
After an historic fundraising effort, the Napa Valley Genealogical and Biographical Society closes escrow on a property located on Menlo Avenue at California in Napa. On 1 April, the Napa Valley Genealogical Library opens for researchers.
1996
The New Technology High school opens in Napa with 130 students. This unique school is established to respond to the challenges to the educational system as the 21st century approached.
1997
Napa City celebrates 150 years of existence.
Sawyers of Napa announces that they are quitting their tannery business after 128 years in Napa.
2000
Historic Hatt Building is renovated and opens as Napa River Inn.
2000
Concerns about Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter launch county-wide protection efforts.
2001
Copia—the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts—opens.
2002
Historic Napa Valley Opera House reopens and presents its first performance in 88 years.
200?
Uptown Theater reopens, restored to its 1930s art-deco grandeur with 1000 seats.