Celebrate Fremont's 50th Anniversary Blog: The former Napa Valley

Sunday, July 23, 2006

The former Napa Valley




Away from the coastal fog and wind, and close by a major market, this area of Alameda County was ideal for vineyards and wine production. The history began with the Spanish Missionaries in 1797, and continued until 1996, when the last winery moved out.

Acreage devoted to vineyards, and wine production, increased until the 1890's when a phylloxera infestation killed many of the original vines. Faced with the cost of replacing the vines with resistant varieties, many of the vineyards were converted to growing other fruit or sold for non-agricultural use. The earthquake of 1906, further diminished production as the Gallegos/Palmdale Winery was destroyed, and Prohibition in the 1920's stopped production completely (though temporarily) until 1933. Finally, Fremont's urban growth since 1960, put an end to production, as former vineyards were converted to housing.


Jill Singleton offers a fun history of the wineries and vineyards of Fremont's past.

Today...
The olive and palm trees of the McIver Linda Vista wineries still stand tall off of Anza Avenue and Mission Boulevard.

The William Brother's cannery and bottling plant stood in the vicinity of the Amtrak station in Centerville.

The original brick winery from Leland Stanford's and the Weibels' Winery can be found at the end of Stanford Lane near the Mission Peak Regional Park staging area.

The Palmdale Winery was demolished during the Great Earthquake of 1906. The remnant landscape now stands at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Osgood Road.