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    St. Helena
    St. Helena
    St. Helena
    Ebook209 pages1 hour

    St. Helena

    By The St. Helena Historical Society with Mariam Hans

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    About this ebook

    The town of St. Helena lies in the heart of Napa Valley, America's celebrated wine-producing region located 63 miles north of San Francisco. In 1854, Henry Still and a Mr. Walters purchased 126 acres from the Mexican land grant of Dr. Edward Bale. They offered free lots to anyone who would start a business there, having the foresight to predict a flourishing town in this verdant agricultural area. Premium wine grapes were planted here by the 1870s, and a thriving wine industry began. There are two theories about how the town got its name: either from the local division of the Sons of Temperance or from Mount St. Helena at the northern end of the valley. As the town developed, its residents, along with those from nearby Oakville, Rutherford, Angwin, and Pope Valley, shopped at its stores, attended its churches and schools, tended its fields, and made merry at numerous gatherings. This book captures these activities in photographs dating from 1880 to 1960.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439640029
    St. Helena
    Author

    The St. Helena Historical Society with Mariam Hans

    The St. Helena Historical Society, with the help of local residents and the Napa County Historical Society, has collected these images illustrating everyday life in St. Helena�s early days.

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      Book preview

      St. Helena - The St. Helena Historical Society with Mariam Hans

      94574.

      INTRODUCTION

      The St. Helena area was home to the Wappo people, a Yukian-speaking group who were the area’s earliest inhabitants. The local tribelet village was called Anakotanoma or Anakanoma and was located near where Sulphur Creek meets the Napa River.

      The earliest white settlers in St. Helena were John York, who lived on what is now Dean York Lane, and David Hudson, whose house is still located at Beringer Winery.

      Dr. Edward Turner Bale was a British surgeon who was appointed to General Vallejo’s California forces. When he married Maria Ygnacia Soberanes, a niece of Vallejo’s, he converted to Catholicism and became a Mexican citizen. This allowed him to receive a Mexican land grant in Napa Valley consisting of 17,962 acres. Bale and his wife moved to their home on Whitehall Lane in 1843, and their family grew to six children. After Bale died in 1849, his family began selling portions of their vast holdings. One such sale was recorded in 1854 when Henry Still and Charles Walters bought 126 acres from Señora Bale. Lots on the property, which lay on the west side of the county road from Sulphur Creek to the future Madrona Avenue, were given to anyone who would start a business. The area became known as Hot Springs Township.

      The railroad came to town in 1868, providing an important shipping nexus for fruit, grain, and mining products. New arrivals began planting vineyards and making wine in the 1860s. The wine industry began to thrive, encouraging more immigrants and more vineyards.

      There are two theories about how the town name was changed. One says it was after the local branch of the Sons of Temperance; another gives credit to Mount St. Helena, a prominent landmark to the north. On March 24, 1876, St. Helena was incorporated as a town, and by 1886, the population had grown to 1,800 people. People from many lands and walks of life continued to relocate here, all adding to the town’s complex and diverse history.

      From early on, St. Helena was the commercial center of upper Napa Valley, including settlements to the east on Howell Mountain, in Pope Valley, and the villages of Rutherford and Oakville to the south. To buy shoes, see a dentist or doctor, attend a lodge meeting, or hear a politician required a trip into town. Students from outlying areas went to high school in St. Helena after attending rural schools. Churchgoers rode into town on Sundays to attend services. Tourists arrived by train, to be met by stagecoaches transporting them to resorts, spas, and other vacation destinations. Local people worked hard, but they knew how to have fun, too, as evidenced by the many saloons and eateries in town, as well as the numerous parades, dances, and other well-attended activities.

      Today, three blocks of St. Helena’s downtown are listed as a National Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. Efforts to preserve agricultural land have helped the town retain its rural charm. St. Helena is proud of its heritage; besides preserving many of its fine old buildings, it has not lost deep traditions of camaraderie and generosity. St. Helena continues to reflect its history as a small town that is also one of the great wine-growing capitals of the world.

      The photographs in this book are mostly taken from the 1880s to the 1960s. It is hoped that their presentation according to theme—the making of wine, the merchants and stores downtown, locals having fun and movies being made, some of the people who lived here, some of the homes they built, the churches and schools they attended, and life in outlying areas—will convey the spirit of St. Helena as it used to be and clarify ties to the past that help to make St. Helena the vibrant, attractive place it is today.

      The ancient inhabitants of the Napa Valley, the Wappo, numbered around 10,000 in 1831 before the Gold Rush throngs inundated California. Due to the disease and encroachment of settlers on their land, by 1908 the Napa Valley population of Native Americans was estimated to have fallen to 40 people. The language and legends of the Wappo were passed down orally from generation to generation. Wappo people were known for their devotion to family, and their motto was respect for elders, honor the children. The infant carrying board shown here was usually made of dogwood, with the curved rod protecting the face. Master weavers made baskets so tightly woven they could hold water and be used for cooking. (Courtesy of the Ina McCormick Hart Collection.)

      One

      MAKING WINE

      Charles Krug (1825–1892) is considered by many to be the father of the Napa Valley wine industry. He pushed the vintners of the valley to produce better quality wines. It was Krug who pioneered the planting of European stock rather than the previously common mission variety. With his leadership, the Napa Valley grew from a tiny farming community into one of the foremost producers of wine in the United States. (Courtesy of St. Supery Winery.)

      Joseph Atkinson first arrived in California in 1849 and engaged in business in San Francisco for 30 years. Around 1882, he sold his business and moved to Rutherford, where he owned 154 acres, eventually planting 115 of them in vines. This photograph shows his home and vineyard, now St. Supery Winery. With partner Seneca Ewer, he established the Ewer and Atkinson Winery in 1885, now Beaulieu Vineyards. (Courtesy of Historic Photos Publishers.)

      A foreman supervises pruning in a vineyard near St. Helena in the early 1900s. Fruit quality depended on proper pruning, and growers such as Hamilton Crabb, Charles Krug, and George Crane led the way in developing the best pruning practices. If too much fruit grew on the vine, called overcropping, the grapes became inferior. Vines were usually head-pruned, as shown in this photograph. (Courtesy of the Frank and Edith Harrison Trust.)

      A farm wife brings lunch to her husband as he ploughs the vineyard with horsepower around

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