APPs + Tools
From Collection Point
Teilen
Father of California Wine Industry
'Hungarian nobleman leaves indelible mark'
Agoston Haraszthy made an impression wherever he went. After serving like a registrant of the Royal Hungarian Guards of Francis I, Emperor of Austria-Hungary in 1830, he was actually forced to flee European union for fear of being branded a revolutionist. In 1842, he returned to Hungary and convinced his father to liquidate their sizeable holdings so the whole family could immigrate to America. When that they appeared in Sauk City, Wisconsin, that they were one of the best-capitalized immigrants from the 19th century. Along with his other entrepreneurial investments, Haraszthy began agricultural experiments and achieved sizeable success in sheep raising and growing hops. Even with his considerable success, he were still disappointed at not having the ability to establish the prime vineyards of his native Hungary. The tug in the western frontier pulled at the Haraszthy family, and so they headed, by wagon train, to California in 1848. Agoston had been the wagon master from the train, which included about sixty immigrants. Without serious incident, the wagon train arrived at Warner Hot Springs, in San Diego County. Colonel Jonathan Warner, a former militiaman who established Warner Hot Springs in 1844, apprised Haraszthy about the agriculture and the politics in the San Diego area. A scant 650 people, generally vaqueros, Yankee sailors who had jumped ship, and also a few Mormon soldiers coming from the Mormon Battalion populated San Diego.
Haraszthy'utes family right now included his wife, six youngsters, his father and stepmother, and Thomas W. Sutherland, former U.Ersus. Attorney for Wisconsin Territory, who ended up being today Haraszthy's stepbrother. The Polish immigrant purchased a plot of land adjacent to San Luis Rey Mission, and, with his sons, Attila and Arpad, first planted a large berries orchard. He later bought 160 acres far more in Mission Valley and planted peach and cherry trees directed to your ex through Brand new York Express. Haraszthy never ceased his investment exercise as well as his interest in community politics. With Don Juan Bandini, Haraszthy set up the first frequently reserved omnibus transit system and established a livery stable. He established a very profitable butcher store. With other real estate speculators, he helped establish the subdivision of Middletown. Haraszthy Street existed there until the early 1960s when it ended up being wiped coming from the map as a result of construction of Interstate 5.
When San Diego County ended up being chartered in 1850, Haraszthy was actually elected the first City Marshall, while his father, Charles, has been elected Magistrate and Land Commissioner. His stepbrother, Tom Sutherland, became San Diego's first City Legal professional. In 1851, he had been elected to the State Assembly and resigned his other office buildings. While in the legislature, then gathering in Vallejo, Haraszthy succeeded in acquiring funding for the expansion of San Diego Harbor and the county'utes first public hospital. He was the first legislator to introduce legislation to divide California into two states; North and South. Because of powerful political awareness in Northern California, that fees died. Just about all the while, Haraszthy continued searching for land a lot more suited to agriculture than San Diego'utes subtropical desert land offered. Early in 1852, he purchased 210 acres near San Francisco'ersus Mission Dolores. He moved the whole family there by the end from the Assembly Session. Haraszthy'utes noteworthy accomplishments didn't stop. He introduced the "Zinfandel" red wine grape and the "Muscat of Alexandria" raisin grape to California. He invented an efficient rare metal refining course of action, and was founding partner in the Eureka Platinum and Silver precious metal Refining Company. The firm became a single of the major contract refiners for the San Francisco Mint.
Because of his reputation for fairness and honesty, Haraszthy had been appointed Assayer from the Mint in 1855. He developed the first large, high-quality grape vineyard at Crystal Springs in San Mateo County. At this unique brand-new ranch, Haraszthy designed and laid out a nursery and horticultural garden, which he named Los Flores. With his son's help, he planted homegrown fruit trees and shrubs imported coming from the east. At for this same time, he obtained a shipment of six choice rooted vines and 160 cuttings from Hungary. In the shipment were two small bundles. One was actually the Muscat of Alexandria and the other were said to be the famous mystery grape, the Zinfandel. Today the Zinfandel will be the most widely planted wine grape in California. In 1857, while visiting Basic Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo at the Common'utes Lachrima Montis estate, Haraszthy were introduced to the Sonoma Valley. This unique valley especially appealed to him because it's weather, topography and soil were so similar to his Hungarian homeland's high quality vineyards. In Sonoma, he established the Szeptaj Estate (Buena Vista). That Buena Vista Winery is truly today a condition park and historic site.
In 1861, He was actually appointed to a California commission to improve agricultural methods and to collect vines and berry tree stocks in The western world. During a European tour with his son, Arpad, he purchased, with his own money, 100,000 grapevines representing 1,400 varieties, along with smaller selected lots of grape planting stock for olives, almonds, pomegranates, oranges, lemons and chestnuts. When he returned, Harper & Brothers, of New York, published Haraszthy's report, "Grape Culture, Wine drinks and Wine Making upon Agriculture and Horticulture. It remained the winemaking classic authority in the English language until well into the 20th century. The Haraszthy family planted vineyards for European immigrant friends and wine growers, including Charles Krug, Emile Dreser and Jacob Grundlach. In 1863, Agoston'utes sons Attila and Arpad Haraszthy were married in a double ceremony to the twin daughters of Basic Vallejo. Later, after a single of his wine cellars containing vintages of two quite a few years was actually destroyed by fire, Haraszthy traveled to Nicaragua where he bought a sugar plantation. There, he wife contacted yellow fever and died. Agoston Haraszthy died July 6, 1869, near his estate, Hacienda San Antonio, at Corinto, Nicaragua, while seeking to cross a crocodile infested rive.. His family believed that he fell into a river while attempting to cross and had been dragged away by a helpful alligator. His body was never found.
