BIO- Pen Pictures page 532
ERNEST WEHNER
Highland Vineyard and Orchards
1888
Ernest Wehner is the owner of Highland Vineyard, which is located on
the west side of the eastern hills, whre it commands a beautiful view
of the valley, and can be seen with fine effect from San Jose and
points beyond. The tract comprises 750 acres, and the great work
of transforming the place into a great vineyard and orchard was
undertaken on a grandscale in 1888. Already 175 acres have been
planted in vines, and fifty acres in choice fruits, but not until about
500 acres are thus improved will this portion of the work be
complete. All the grapes are of wine varieties and all foreign
selected. Of the tress thus far planted there are 1, 500
apricots, 500 nectartines, 2,000 peaches, 500 French prunes, 500
Bartlett pears, and all show fine progress. Three hundred acres
addtional of vines will be planted. The arrangemens for the
manufacture of wine are now being matured, and in 1889 a winery, with a
storage capacity of 500,000 gallons, will be erected. No wine
will be sent off the place until it has aged sufficiently to become of
fine quality. The construction of a residence building, to cost $20,000, will be commenced in the fall of 1888,
and it will be built of stone quarried from the neighboring
hills. Water for all purposes is supplied in abundance from many
living springs. Only two of these have thus far been tapped, but
they yield from 8,000 to 20,000 gallons per day.
Mr. Ernest Wehner, under whose intelligent superintendence all this
work is being done, is a native of Hanover, Germany. In 1869 he
came to America, and after a residence of one year in Wisconsin removed
to California. He resided in San Jose until he undertook the
management of the Highland vineyard. His brother, William Wehner,
the owner of the ranch, is well known as the originator oand proprietor
of many large panoramas in a number of large cities of the United
States. Among the more celebrated of these panoramas are those of
the Crucifixtion of Christ, the Battle of Gettysburg, and Missionary
Ridge. He has others at Indianapolis, Detroit, and Chicago, while
the building and paintings for one at Buffalo, New York, are now in
course of preparation.
SOURCE: Pen Pictures From The Garden of the World or Santa Clara County, California, Illustrated. - Edited by H.S.
Foote.- Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1888. page 532 Transcribed by Carolyn Feroben
SANTA CLARA COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES
SANTA CLARA COUNTY HISTORY AND GENEALOGY