The Loose Cannon – Yountville’s Train Stations
John Holt is a true historian of the Napa Valley. Below, I quote from his work, “Yountville: The Beginnings” by John Holt – Napa County Historical Society. Here are some excerpts from that article:
“Sebastopol/Yountville grew steadily but unspectacularly and somewhat slowly until the railroad arrived in 1868. They built the first brick station (now Pacific Blues Café) on the tracks a half mile south of Madison and the county road intersection. This forced the development of town south of Yount’s village.” (Author’s note: the first brick station is soon to be Clementine.)
“The arrival of the railroad and the October 5, 1870 sale of the remaining portions of Yount’s Rancho Caymus marked the beginning of the next big development of Yountville.
“Numerous other buildings were built in the same area including the Gibbs building (Bouchon restaurant) across Washington Street in 1872 and the Magnolia Hotel (Maison Fleurie) in 1873. Groezinger planted 200 acres of grapevines to supply his winery and even built a magnificent two-story family mansion near the property (the single-story brick building north of the Groezinger wine cellar) (Author’s note, this will soon be Wylde.) The town quickly flourished with the influx of the railroad, merchants and farmers.”
So that first brick railway station has been undergoing restoration as a historical building and will be opening soon as Clementine. For more information click here: Clementine Yountville.
Click on this link for a great overview of the second railway station (by Pat Alexander):
Point of Interest in Napa County, California: Yountville Railroad Depot
When this second building was completed, the editor of the Napa Register had this to say in the Friday, August 23, 1889 edition:
“The new R. R. depot, now about completed, is indeed an honor to the R. R. Company and an ornament to the town. Many complimentary remarks are passed upon its unique structure and attractive appearance, but like every work of art it is not beyond criticism. It is thought that the station-master’s domestic quarters upstairs could be improved, both as to room and convenience…But query: May not the very erection of this large and beautiful railroad station here at this time be a prophecy of Yountville’s growth and importance, to be fulfilled (let us hope) In the near future? Why not? Railroad companies are known to be far from short-sighted in their business enterprises; and, certainly, with a generous distribution vast and valuable acreage, combined with its happy location in the center of the fertile, healthful and beautiful Napa valley, the future prosperity of Yountville is assured.”
But 75 years later (in the 1960s), few people would have characterized Yountville as prosperous. Only then was Yountville beginning to morph into a prosperous town and a desirable destination.
Small Town Fun
Going back almost 60 years, I was in St. Helena High School with a mischievous friend named Jeff. His family had a 1948 (or so?) Plymouth that was involved in many “questionable” adventures with Jeff at the wheel. It was discovered that if the tires were deflated a bit, it could be driven on the railroad tracks without even being steered.
One moon-lit night, a small group of us got the Plymouth on the train tracks at Deer Park Road just north of Charles Krug Winery, turned off the headlights and headed north. We were thoroughly enjoying our joy ride on the rails until we approached a house close to the tracks. They had a dog that started barking as we got closer, and the house lights came on just as we were passing by; there was a man watching us out his window. Not good! We exited the tracks at the next crossroad to avoid getting caught by Sheriff Harry Milani, who monitored our activities closely and knew us all, and our parents, by name. After all, St. Helena was just a sleepy little town back then.
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