Napa in Napa County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Eshcol/Trefethen Winery
Photographed By Sandra Harmyk, Executive Assistant, Trefethen Family Vineyards, June 29, 2021
1. Eshcol/Trefethen Winery Marker
Erected 1988 by Native Sons of the Golden West.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Native Sons/Daughters of the Golden West series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1886.
Location. 38° 21.6′ N, 122° 19.933′ W. Marker is in Napa, California, in Napa County. Marker can be reached from Oak Knoll Avenue. The marker is affixed to the building, to the right of the entrance. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1160 Oak Knoll Avenue, Napa CA 94558, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Battle of Seven Pines Memorial (approx. 2.7 miles away); Veterans Home of California (approx. 2.9 miles away); a different marker also named Veterans Home of California (approx. 3 miles away); Cal 100 (approx. 3 miles away); George Yount's Millstones (approx. 3.3 miles away); Map of Groezinger's Addition (approx. 3.3 miles away); Yountville Community Hall (approx. 3.3 miles away); Groezinger Winery (approx. 3.3 miles away).
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Regarding Eshcol/Trefethen Winery. Commissioned by the Goodman Brothers in 1886, this historic winery was built in a grove of towering oak trees at the center of Eshcol Ranch, directly across the street from the Oak Knoll train station. Designed and built by Captain Hamden McIntyre, who also built Inglenook, Far Niente, Greystone, Beaulieu, Chateau Montelena, Frog’s Leap, and many others, Eshcol/Trefethen Winery is his greatest work in wood. Immensely framed by stout rectangular posts of Douglas fir and clad in tongue-in-groove redwood siding, the original structure was built so solidly that a visiting writer said that the mezzanine level on the second floor “could have supported the weight of a small locomotive.” Severely damaged by the magnitude 6.0 South Napa Earthquake of 2014, the winery was repaired and reinforced and is now back in business.
Also see . . .
1. Trefethen Family Vineyards History.
One of the first wineries visitors see driving up Highway 29, our historic building has stood sentinel over Napa Valley’s vineyards for more than a century. The only surviving 19th-century wooden three-level gravity flow winery in the valley, it is truly one of a kind, and an extraordinary place to appreciate our estate grown wines.(Submitted on July 2, 2021, by James King of San Miguel, California.)
Photographed By Sandra Harmyk, Executive Assistant, Trefethen Family Vineyards
2. Eshcol/Trefethen Winery
Fully restored in 2017.
2. National Register of Historic Places Listing. (Submitted on July 2, 2021, by James King of San Miguel, California.)
3. Repair and Retrofit in the Aftermath of the Napa Earthquake.
Trefethen Family Vineyards is a family-owned estate winery located just to the north of Napa, California, within the Oak Knoll District AVA. Their historic winery building, originally known as Eshcol, was constructed in 1886 by Hamden McIntyre, a Scottish civil engineer, honorary ship captain, and well-known builder of wineries in the Napa Valley (Figure 1). McIntyre designed a quartet of similar gravity-fed winery buildings in the Napa Valley during this era: Eshcol, Inglenook, Far Niente, and Greystone, the current home of the Culinary Institute of America. The Trefethen/Eshcol building is unique as an exposed heavy-timber framed structure located on the valley floor, which required a horse-drawn elevator system to hoist grapes to the top level for production. The other three McIntyre wineries were constructed of stone and built against hillsides at the edge of the valley, allowing horse-drawn carts to deliver grapes directly to the upper levels. The Eshcol winery was purchased by the Trefethen family in 1968 and was listed with the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, recognized as the only 19th century,(Submitted on July 2, 2021, by James King of San Miguel, California.)wood-framed, gravity flow winery remaining in Napa County....
3. Historic View of Eshcol/Trefethen Winery
Photographed By Sandra Harmyk, Executive Assistant, Trefethen Family Vineyards, June 29, 2021
4. NRHP Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on July 3, 2021. It was originally submitted on July 2, 2021, by James King of San Miguel, California. This page has been viewed 165 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 2, 2021, by James King of San Miguel, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
