Napa Commercial

Refaced this winery with a smooth cement color stucco.

In the mid-1850s, Napa’s Main Street rivaled that of many larger cities, with as many as 100 saddle horses tied to the fences on an average afternoon. The California Gold Rush of the late 1850s expanded Napa City. In 1858 the great silver rush began in Napa Valley. After the first severe winter in the gold fields, miners sought refuge in the young city from snow, cold, floods and disease. John Patchett opened the first commercial winery in the county in 1859. Many cattle ranches and the lumber industry greatly expanded, with timber that was shipped out on the river to Benicia, the former state capital, and San Francisco.