Escalle, Larkspur, California

Last updated
Escalle
Former unincorporated community
District of Larkspur
USA California location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Escalle
Location in California
Coordinates: 37°56′36″N122°32′42″W / 37.94333°N 122.54500°W / 37.94333; -122.54500 Coordinates: 37°56′36″N122°32′42″W / 37.94333°N 122.54500°W / 37.94333; -122.54500 [1]
Country United States
State California
County Marin County
City Larkspur

The Escalle region of (what is now) Larkspur, California takes its name from Jean Escalle, a 19th-century French immigrant and vintner whose name was given to many things in the area before it was incorporated into Larkspur, including the local railway station, and a vineyard, quarry, resort, and brickworks that he owned. The site of the buildings that remain from the original estate at (what is now) 771 Magnolia Avenue is a class H historic zone. [2]

Contents

Jean Escalle and the development of the settlement

With his brother Pierre, Jean Escalle immigrated to Larkspur in 1881 from France, to join his friend and fellow French immigrant Claude Callot in operating a brickworks. [3] [4] Callot had been operating the brickworks since 1874, having leased it from a Patrick King that year and then outright bought it in 1879; and in the year of the arrival of the Escalles they together built a house, a barn, a water-tank, and a winery on Callot's property, which was on the lower slopes of Little King Mountain. [5] Escalle married Callot's widow Ellen after Callott's death in 1888, expanding from running the brickworks into also running an inn, named the Limerick Inn and opened in 1894 next to the house. [3] [6] [7] There he sold wine from grapes grown in a 23 acres (9.3 hectares) vineyard expanded from the original, which by that time was producing 20,000 US gallons (760 hL) of wine per year. [8] [9] Escalle ran a weekly wine delivery service. [10]

The Limerick Inn was a part of the area becoming a resort, with its bocce ball court and gardens; to which customers would travel by railway or buggy. [9] The Escalle annual celebration of Bastille Day became a popular attraction, as well. [11] The local railway station came to be known as Escalle. [3] The area bordered on an ark community that grew at around the same time, Boardwalks #1, #2, and #3; [12] and one 1892 photograph (now in the William Frizzi collection at the Marin History Museum [13] ) records members of the ark community fetching water from Escalle's water tank and the wine delivery driver August "Gus" Frizzi (husband of baker Julia Frizzi, whose bakery stood at what is now 499 Magnolia Avenue, and later saloon owner) setting out to make a delivery in a horse and buggy. [14]

Because of Prohibition, the inn ceased selling wine in 1920. [15] Escalle also died that year, causing legal complications to ensue from his relatives in France that effectively left the entire estate in limbo for the next two decades. [15] Adolph A. Tiscornia, an attorney and investor who acquired a significant fraction of Larkspur over the years, eventually bought Escalle in 1941, after the legal complications were finally resolved, and in 1978 Escalle Village was built. [16]

Current status

In the 21st century, the original estate buildings still remain, most of Tiscornia's other properties having been sold by Tiscornia's granddaughter and heir Mary, including the barn, the water tank, and the winery, which retains its original Italianate false front with "Escalle's" and "1888" on the upper storey and its original brick lower floor and wood upper floor. [17] The additional signage "Corte Madera Vineyard and Winery" that existed in Escalle's lifetime (after Corte Madera as this was before incorporation into Larkspur) is, however, no longer present, and various additions have been made to the winery that are not visible from the front; as well as a two-car garage added, built into the slope of the hill. [18] The Limerick Inn was damaged in 1982 by a landslip, and is now mainly a shell albeit one that was stabilized after being threatened by the nearby growth of elm trees in 2003 and redecorated in 2008 for a Centennial celebration. [19]

Related Research Articles

Larkspur, California City in California, United States

Larkspur is a city in Marin County, California, United States. Larkspur is located 3 miles (4.8 km) south of San Rafael, at an elevation of 43 feet (13 m). As of the 2010 Census, the city's population was 11,927. Larkspur's Police Department is shared with that of the neighboring Corte Madera and town of San Anselmo as the Central Marin Police Authority. Intersecting Larkspur's downtown is Madrone Canyon, a residential area amidst a redwood grove.

Bronco Wine Company California wine producer

The Bronco Wine Company is a vintner that produces wines under many brands and is based in Ceres, California. It is the fourth largest producer of wine in the United States.

California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state. California would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world if it were an independent nation.

Gustave Niebaum

Gustave Ferdinand Niebaum was a Finnish-American sea captain and winemaker.

Washington wine Wine produced from grape varieties grown in the U.S. state of Washington

Washington wine is a wine produced from grape varieties grown in the U.S. state of Washington. Washington ranks second in the United States in the production of wine. By 2017, the state had over 55,000 acres (220 km2) of vineyards, a harvest of 229,000 short tons (208,000 t) of grapes, and exports going to over 40 countries around the world from the 940+ wineries located in the state. While there are some viticultural activities in the cooler, wetter western half of the state, the majority (99.9%) of wine grape production takes place in the shrub-steppe eastern half. The rain shadow of the Cascade Range leaves the Columbia River Basin with around 8 inches (200 mm) of annual rain fall, making irrigation and water rights of paramount interest to the Washington wine industry. Viticulture in the state is also influenced by long sunlight hours and consistent temperatures.

The state of Oregon in the United States has established an international reputation for its production of wine, ranking fourth in the country behind California, Washington, and New York. Oregon has several different growing regions within the state's borders that are well-suited to the cultivation of grapes; additional regions straddle the border between Oregon and the states of Washington and Idaho. Wine making dates back to pioneer times in the 1840s, with commercial production beginning in the 1960s.

Willamette Valley Vineyards An American winery based in Turner, Oregon

Willamette Valley Vineyards is an American winery located in Turner, Oregon. Named after Oregon's Willamette Valley, the winery is the leading producer of Willamette Valley-appellated Pinot noir in Oregon, and also produces Chardonnay and Pinot gris. In 2016, the winery was the largest producer of Riesling wine in the Willamette Valley.

Schliengen Municipality in Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Schliengen is a town in southwestern Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in the Kreis (district) of Lörrach. Schliengen's claim to international fame is the Battle of Schliengen, fought between forces of the French Revolutionary army under Jean-Victor Moreau and the Austrian army under Karl von Österreich-Teschen. As both sides claimed victory, the battle is commemorated on a monument in Vienna and on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Pacific Rim Winemakers is a Washington winery owned by the Mariani Family. It was founded by Randall Grahm in 1992. Pacific Rim's winery is located in West Richland and is the United States' only large winery devoted almost exclusively to Riesling. The wines have been produced since the 2006 vintage) by general manager and head winemaker Nicolas Quillé. Pacific Rim produces principally Riesling from Dry to dessert style and also small amounts of Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner, and Chenin blanc.

California wine Wine made from grapes grown in California, United States

California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted Vitis vinifera vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. In the 1770s, Spanish missionaries continued the practice under the direction of the Father Junípero Serra planted California's first vineyard at Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Henry of Pelham Winery

Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery is an Ontario winery that released their first vintage in 1988. The namesake of the winery, Henry (Smith) of Pelham was an early settler in Upper Canada’s Niagara Peninsula. His father Nicholas, the first settler, was Pennsylvania Dutch and a United Empire Loyalist who sided with the crown during the American Revolution of 1776.

The Shawnee Hills AVA is an American Viticultural Area located between the Mississippi River and the Ohio River in southern Illinois. The wine appellation includes over 2,140 square miles (5,500 km2) of land in portions of Alexander, Gallatin, Hardin, Jackson, Johnson, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Union, and Williamson counties. The region stretches approximately 80 miles (130 km) east-west and 20 miles (30 km) north-south, and includes the vast majority of the Shawnee National Forest.

Cristom Vineyards Wine producer and vineyard in Oregon, US

Cristom Vineyards is an Oregon wine producer and vineyard based near Salem, U.S. It is in the Eola-Amity Hills wine region within the Willamette Valley AVA, about 6 miles (9.7 km) northwest of Keizer.

Charles Krug American winemaker

Charles Krug (1825–1892) was among the pioneers of winemaking in the Napa Valley, California, and was the founder of the Charles Krug Winery.

Chinook Wines

Chinook is a Washington winery located in the Yakima Valley AVA. Founded in 1983 by the wife and husband team of Kay Simon and Clay Mackey, Chinook was one of the pioneering wineries that established Prosser, Washington as a major wine-producing region in Washington state. Kay Simon, who began her career after graduating in 1976 from University of California-Davis in California's San Joaquin Valley and at Chateau Ste. Michelle, was one of the first female winemaker in Washington State. Chinook wines are widely regarded for their quality and help spread recognition for Washington wines. They are considered by wine experts such as Paul Gregutt to be "the classic expression of Yakima Valley fruit". Chinook's work with Cabernet franc, in particular, has garnered the statewide acclaim with the dry Cabernet franc rosé often described in wine reviews as a "Washington Chinon".

David Duncan (vintner) American vintner and entrepreneur

David Duncan is an American vintner and entrepreneur. The President and Chief Executive Officer of Duncan Oil, he is also the President and Chief Executive Officer of Silver Oak Cellars and Managing Partner of Twomey Cellars, successful wineries in northern California, operating in the Napa, Alexander and Russian River Valleys. He is the son of late Raymond Twomey Duncan, an oil and wine entrepreneur who co-founded Silver Oak in 1972 with Justin Meyer. Silver Oak is a family-run and owned business, and his brother Tim Duncan is Executive Vice President of the company. ColoradoBiz says that David Duncan is "as much a hands-on winery president as he can be", as president of a winery that has "reached cult status" for its Cabernet Sauvignon production.

Lone Buffalo Winery

Lone Buffalo Vineyards is a winery in Auburn, California in the United States.

Jean-Charles Boisset French vintner and winery owner

Jean-Charles Boisset is a French vintner and the proprietor of the Boisset Collection, which operates 28 wineries in California, France, and Canada.

Northwestern Pacific Railroad interurban lines Railway lines in Marin County, California, 1903-1941

The Northwestern Pacific Railroad operated a network of electric interurban lines in Marin County, California from 1903 to 1941. The lines ran to Sausalito at the southern tip of the county, where connecting ferries ran to San Francisco. Trains consisted of electric multiple units powered by third rail electrification. The lines were the first third-rail electrification in California, and the first major railroad to use alternating current signals.

References

  1. ↑ GNIS.
  2. ↑ Heitkamp 2010, p. 248,253.
  3. 1 2 3 Teather 1986, p. 25, ESCALLE'S.
  4. ↑ Arrigoni 2000, p. 131.
  5. ↑ Heitkamp 2010, pp. 224, 248, 356.
  6. ↑ Heitkamp 2010, p. 355.
  7. ↑ Heitkamp 2010, pp. 18, 248–249.
  8. ↑ Mason & Van Cleave Park 1975, p. 90.
  9. 1 2 Heitkamp 2010, pp. 249.
  10. ↑ Heitkamp 2010, pp. 248.
  11. ↑ SN 1920.
  12. ↑ Heitkamp 2010, pp. 224, 226.
  13. ↑ MHM 1892.
  14. ↑ Heitkamp 2010, pp. 34–35, 248.
  15. 1 2 Heitkamp 2010, pp. 250.
  16. ↑ Heitkamp 2010, pp. 250, 355, 358.
  17. ↑ Heitkamp 2010, pp. 248, 252.
  18. ↑ Heitkamp 2010, p. 252.
  19. ↑ Heitkamp 2010, pp. 252–253.

Reference bibliography

  • Teather, Louise (1986). Place Names of Marin: Where Did They Come From?. Scottwall Associates. ISBN   9780961279080.
  • Arrigoni, Patricia (2000). Carroll, Dana (ed.). Making the Most of Marin: A California Guide. Travel Publishers International. ISBN   9780962546877.
  • Mason, Jack; Van Cleave Park, Helen (1975). The Making of Marin (1850–1975). North Shore Books.
  • Heitkamp, Helen (2010). Larkspur Past and Present. Larkspur Heritage Preservation Board. ISBN   9780615395128.
  • "JEAN ESCALLE DEAD". Sausalito News. 36 (47). 1920-11-20.
  • "Silver gelatin print of Corte Madera Escalle". Marin History Museum. 1892. P1999.1543.
  • "Escalle". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.