He was elected the first mayor of Napa City when incorporated in 1872. When Bale died in 1848, Bruck became the executor of the will for the family. Bale's oldest daughter Lolita married the seaman Louis Bruck. Rutherford established himself as a serious grower and producer of fine wines in the following years. The couple received as a wedding gift from George Yount, land in the area of the valley now known as Rutherford. Yount's granddaughter Elizabeth Yount married Thomas Rutherford in 1864. Napa County was formed and became one of the original California counties when the state became part of the United States in 1850.ĭescendants of George Yount and Captain Edward Bale played key roles in the early development of Napa County. To this day, a number of streets and landmarks around the valley reflect the names of these ranchos and original grantees. The Town of Napa was founded on Rancho Entre Napa by Nathan Coombs in 1847.įollowing the event of the Mexican–American War, Bear Flag Revolt in 1846 and the Mexican Cession in 1848, settlers were granted deeds from the original ranchos during the 1850s through 1870s. Chiles a guide for one of the earliest immigrant trains to California, was granted Rancho Catacula in 1844.

Bale completed building the Bale Grist Mill a few miles north of St. Following Yount's death in 1865 at age 71, the town of Yountville was named in his honor.įollowing his marriage to General Vallejo’s niece Maria Guadalupe Soberanes, Edward Turner Bale became a citizen of Mexico and was granted Rancho Carne Humana in the northern end of the valley. Soon afterward, he built a sawmill and grain mill, and was the first person to plant a vineyard in the county. In 1836 Yount obtained the Mexican grant Rancho Caymus where he built what is said to be the first log house in California. Yount was an early settler in Napa County and is believed to be the first Anglo-Saxon resident in the county. Settlers also killed several over claims of cattle theft.ĭuring the era between 18, when California was a province of independent Mexico, the following 13 ranchos were granted in Napa County: Many of the native peoples died during a smallpox epidemic in 1838. The Napa and Ulcus tribes occupied part of the area where the City of Napa now exists while the Soscol tribe occupied the portion that now makes up the southern end of the valley. Further south, the Kymus dwelt in the middle part of the valley. The Callajomans were in the area near where the town of St. The Mayacomos tribe lived in the area where Calistoga was founded. When the first white settlers arrived in the early 1830s, there were six tribes in the valley speaking different dialects and they were often at war with each other. Russians from Sonoma County's Fort Ross grazed cattle and sheep in the Napa Valley in the early 19th century and in 1841 a survey party from the fort placed a plaque on the summit of Mount Saint Helena.įrancis Castro and Father Jose Altimura were the first Europeans to explore the Napa Valley, in 1823. In 1776, a fort was erected by the Spanish Governor, Felipe de Neve a short distance northwest of Napa, on an elevated plateau. The maximum prehistoric population is thought not to have exceeded 5000 persons. In winter months, they were half-clad in wild animal skins and at other times they wore no clothing. In summer they camped near rivers and streams. In winter they would construct huts made of tree branches. Their food consisted of wild roots, acorns, small animals, earthworms, grasshoppers, and bread made from crushed California buckeye kernels. Most villages are thought to have been constructed near the floodplains of watercourses that drain the valley. In prehistoric times, the valley was inhabited by the Patwin Native Americans, with possible habitation by Wappo tribes in the northwestern foothills.

Napa County, once the producer of many different crops, is known today for its regional wine industry, rising to the first rank of wine regions with France by local wineries Stag's Leap Wine Cellars and Chateau Montelena winning the 'Judgment of Paris' in 1976. Napa County comprises the Napa, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the San Jose- San Francisco- Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area. Parts of the county's territory were given to Lake County in 1861.

Napa County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,019. Napa County ( / ˈ n æ p ə/ i) is a county north of San Pablo Bay located in the northern portion of the U.S.

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