Agoston Haraszthy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Agoston Haraszthy
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| Born |
Haraszthy Ágoston
August 30, 1812 Pest, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire
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| Died | July 6, 1869 (aged 56) |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Other names | Count Haraszthy, Father of California Viticulture, Father of Modern Winemaking in California |
| Occupation | Nobleman, writer, vintner, town-builder, farmer, livestock owner, store owner, brick maker, steamboat operator, ferryman, wagon master, livery stable operator, stagecoach operator, state legislator, land speculator, refinery owner, assayer, sugar plantation owner, distiller |
| Known for | Pioneer winemaker in California |
| Spouse(s) | Elenora Dedinszky |
Agoston Haraszthy (born August 30, 1812 – died July 6, 1869) was a Hungarian-American nobleman, adventurer, writer, and a key figure in building towns and starting the wine industry in Wisconsin and California. He is often called the "Father of California Wine" or the "Father of Modern Winemaking in California." He was one of the first people to plant vineyards in Wisconsin. He also founded the famous Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma, California, and wrote early books about California wine.
He was the first person from Hungary to live permanently in the United States. He also wrote one of the first books about America in Hungarian. In Wisconsin, people remember him for founding the state's oldest official village. He also ran the first commercial steamboat on the upper Mississippi River. In San Diego, he was the first town marshal and county sheriff. In California, he brought over 300 different kinds of European grapes to the state.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Where Was Agoston Haraszthy Born?
Agoston Haraszthy was born in 1812 in Pest, Hungary. He was the only child of Károly Haraszthy and Anna Mária Fischer.
What Was His Noble Background?
The Haraszthys were a Hungarian noble family. This meant they had a special social standing and owned land. In Hungary, his full name was Mokcsai Haraszthy Ágoston. This name showed that his family once owned estates in places called Mokcsa and Haraszth.
As a Hungarian nobleman, Agoston was called Honorable Sir or Noble Lord. When he lived in Wisconsin in the 1840s, people often called him "Count" Haraszthy. Later, in California, he was known as "Colonel" Haraszthy. These were honorary titles, like calling someone a respected gentleman.
His Family in Hungary
Both Agoston and his father, Károly Haraszthy, owned estates in southern Hungary. They were also involved in the wine business.
On January 6, 1833, Agoston Haraszthy married Eleonóra Dedinszky. Her family was also part of the Hungarian nobility. Agoston and Eleonóra had six children: Géza, Attila, Árpád, Ida, Béla, and Otélia.
Journey to America
Why Did Haraszthy Come to America?
In March 1840, Agoston Haraszthy left Hungary for the United States with his cousin, Károly Fischer. He traveled through Austria, Germany, and England, then crossed the Atlantic to New York. From there, they went by river and canal to Wisconsin. Agoston said he came to America "for one reason only—namely, to see this blessed country for myself."
His Book About America
When he returned to Hungary in 1842, Agoston decided to write a book about the United States in Hungarian. He traveled widely across America to gather information. His two-volume book, Utazás Éjszakamerikában (Travels in North America), was published in 1844. It praised American life and business. This was the second book about the United States ever published in Hungarian.
Life in Wisconsin
Founding Sauk City
In Wisconsin, Haraszthy first tried to settle near Lake Koshkonong, but it didn't work out. So, he moved to the Sauk Prairie area. There, he bought a large piece of land and started a town. He first named it Széptáj, which means "beautiful place" in Hungarian. Later, it was called Haraszthy, and finally Sauk City.
In 1842, Haraszthy went back to Hungary to bring his parents, wife, and children to Wisconsin. They became United States citizens and never returned to Hungary.
His Many Projects in Wisconsin
Agoston Haraszthy was involved in many projects in Wisconsin.
- He built mills.
- He grew corn and other grains.
- He raised sheep, pigs, and horses.
- He owned a store and a brickyard. Many old houses in Sauk City were built with his bricks.
- He owned and ran a steamboat that carried people and goods on the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers.
- He gave land for the first Roman Catholic church and school in Sauk City.
Early Winemaking in Wisconsin
On the east side of the Wisconsin River, in what is now the Town of Roxbury, Haraszthy planted grapes. He also dug wine cellars into the hillsides. Today, these cellars and slopes are home to the Wollersheim Winery, which is the second oldest winery in the United States. This area is now one of Wisconsin's best-known wine regions.
Haraszthy also built a hunting lodge and started a ferry service across the river. He even got approval to build a bridge, but he left for California before he could start the project.
Moving to California
The Journey West
Like many others, Haraszthy was excited by the news of gold being discovered in California in 1848. By the end of that year, he planned to leave Wisconsin. In early 1849, he was chosen as the captain of a group of wagons heading to California on the Santa Fe Trail.
Even though many people went west for gold, Haraszthy said he was going to California "to settle, not for the gold." He wanted to plant a vineyard near San Diego. He left Wisconsin with his whole family in March 1849 and arrived in San Diego in December.
Life in San Diego
In San Diego, Agoston Haraszthy partnered with Juan Bandini, a well-known Spanish-Californian. He started many businesses and farming projects:
- He planted fruit orchards.
- He ran a stable and a stagecoach line.
- He opened a butcher shop.
- He helped divide a large part of the San Diego Bay shore into streets, parks, and building lots. This area was called Middle San Diego, or "Haraszthyville."
While in San Diego, Haraszthy ordered grapevines by mail from the eastern United States and Europe. He planted a vineyard near the San Diego River. In April 1850, he was elected sheriff of San Diego County. He also served as the city marshal and built a jail for San Diego.
Serving in the California State Assembly
Haraszthy was elected to the California State Assembly from San Diego in September 1851. He served from January to May 1852. He worked on ideas to help San Diego, such as preventing floods and helping people in need.
San Francisco and San Mateo
While working in the legislature, Haraszthy began buying land near Mission Dolores in San Francisco. He tried to grow grapes there, but the weather was too foggy. He then bought a large area near Crystal Springs in San Mateo County and planted vineyards. However, he found it was still too foggy for the grapes to ripen well. In both places, he kept bringing in many different European grapevines and experimented with growing them.
In San Francisco, Haraszthy became friends with Hungarian experts in working with metals. He started a business called Haraszthy and Uznay and built a large gold and silver refinery. When a branch of the United States Mint opened in San Francisco in 1854, Haraszthy became the first U.S. assayer (someone who tests metals). Later, he became the melter and refiner at the Mint.
An investigation into missing gold at the Mint took place. Agoston was accused of wrongdoing, but after a long investigation and a civil trial, he was completely cleared in February 1861.
The Father of California Wine
Moving to Sonoma
While the Mint investigation was happening, Haraszthy moved to Sonoma, about fifty miles north of San Francisco. In 1856, he bought a small vineyard northeast of the town and renamed it Buena Vista. He moved his grapevines there and started to make the vineyards much bigger. He hired Charles Krug as his winemaker.
In 1857, he started digging tunnels into a nearby mountain and building stone cellars. He eventually had two large stone buildings for making wine, with tunnels and the newest winemaking equipment. Haraszthy’s cellars at Buena Vista were the first stone wineries in California. He bought more land, eventually owning over 5,000 acres. He believed in planting vines on hillsides and letting them grow without extra watering. He also encouraged other important Californians to come to Sonoma, where he planted vineyards for them. He built a beautiful house in the middle of the Buena Vista vineyards for his family.
His Important Wine Report
In 1858, Haraszthy wrote a 19-page "Report on Grapes and Wine of California." This report was published by the California State Agricultural Society. It gave practical advice on planting vines and making wine, encouraging grape growing across the state. Later, this report was recognized as the first important book on winemaking written and published in California. It was praised as the "first American explanation of traditional European winemaking practices."
Leading the Agricultural Society
Haraszthy wrote articles for newspapers and gave speeches to farmers. His wines won top awards at the California State Fair. On April 23, 1862, he was elected president of the California State Agricultural Society.
The Buena Vista Vinicultural Society
In 1863, Haraszthy started the Buena Vista Vinicultural Society. This was the first large company in California created specifically for farming. With help from important investors, he greatly expanded his vineyards in Sonoma. He sold his wine as far away as New York. In 1864, a magazine article said that Buena Vista was "the largest establishment of the kind in the world."
His Trip to Europe for Grapes
In 1861, the California Governor asked Haraszthy to find the best ways to improve grape growing in California. He decided to travel to Europe to study winemaking and collect cuttings (small pieces of vines) from European grapes. He traveled through France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and his home country, Hungary. He returned to California in December 1861 with over 100,000 cuttings from more than 350 different types of vines.
He offered to sell these vines to the state and grow them in his nursery in Sonoma. He wanted to test them to see which ones grew best in California and then share them with other winemakers. However, the state government refused his offer. This was a financial setback for Haraszthy, as he had spent a lot of money collecting and bringing the vines back. He ended up distributing the vines himself.
Family Ties: Haraszthy-Vallejo Wedding
In Sonoma, Haraszthy became good friends with Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. Vallejo was a very respected winemaker and a former leader of Mexican California.
On June 1, 1863, the Haraszthy and Vallejo families became even closer with a double wedding. Two of Haraszthy's sons married two of Vallejo's daughters. Natalia Vallejo married Attila Haraszthy, and Jovita Vallejo married Arpad Haraszthy.
One of Agoston Haraszthy's great-grandchildren was the actress Natalie Kingston.
Challenges at Buena Vista
Agoston Haraszthy's way of managing the Buena Vista Vinicultural Society was both forward-thinking and risky. He borrowed a lot of money to make the vineyards and cellars bigger. He used a planting method called layering, which made vines grow faster but also made them more open to soil diseases.
By the mid-1860s, the vines at Buena Vista started to look brown and weak. Haraszthy's critics thought this was because of his layering method. But it was actually caused by the first known outbreak of phylloxera in California. Phylloxera is a tiny insect that attacks grapevines. It later spread throughout California and even to France, causing huge damage to vineyards.
Because grape production was low, the money from Buena Vista wine was not enough to pay the company's debts. In 1867, the shareholders forced Haraszthy out of the Vinicultural Society. He then moved to another vineyard in Sonoma owned by his wife and later filed for bankruptcy.
Final Years in Nicaragua
In 1868, Haraszthy left California and moved to Nicaragua. He started a partnership with a doctor named Theodore Wassmer. They began to develop a large sugar plantation near the port of Corinto, Nicaragua. Haraszthy planned to make rum there and sell it in America.
On July 6, 1869, he disappeared in a river on his Nicaraguan property. No one ever found his body. It was never clear if he fell into the river and was washed out to sea, or if alligators in the area pulled him under the water.
Legacy and Recognition
Vintners Hall of Fame
In March 2007, Agoston Haraszthy was honored by being added to the Vintners Hall of Fame by the Culinary Institute of America. He was recognized for his important contributions to starting the wine industry in California. His great-great grandson, Vallejo Haraszthy, accepted the award for him.
See Also
- Buena Vista Winery
- California wine
- Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
- Phylloxera
- Sauk City, Wisconsin
- Sonoma, California
- Viticulture
- Wollersheim Winery
Images for kids
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Agoston Haraszthy, a pioneer in California winemaking.
