Timeline of George Husmann’s Life & Work

  • 1827

    • On November 4, George Husmann is born to Martin Husmann and Louise Charlotte Wesselhoeft Husmann in Meyenburg, Germany

  • 1832

    • George’s uncle, J.G. Wesselhoeft, and oldest sister, Marianne, immigrate to Philadelphia

  • 1836

    • Martin and Fritz (George’s brother) purchase shares in the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia

  • 1837

    • The Husmann family board the ship Clementine out of the German port of Bremerhaven

    • In September, the Husmanns arrive in Philadelphia and meet Dr. Constantin Hering, Marianne’s husband

    • J.G. Wesselhoeft and his cousin, William Wesselhoeft, plant one of the first commercial vineyards in Pennsylvania, likely giving young George his first exposure to viticulture

  • 1838

    • The Husmanns make their way to St. Louis, where Martin Husmann rents a 10-acre farm outside the city

  • 1839

    • In March, the Husmanns arrive in Hermann

  • 1840

    • On November 4, George’s 13th birthday, his mother Louise dies of “brain fever”

  • 1844

    • The trustees of Hermann encourage citizens to grow grapes by offering lots to grape growers at $50 with a no-interest period of five years

  • 1847

    • George plants his first vines of Isabella and Catawba grapes

    • Charles Teubner meets the Husmanns after wandering onto their property while hunting

    • On September 20, Charles Teubner and Josephine Husmann, George’s older sister, are married in an orchard on Charles’ property, which is today’s Hermann Farm

    • In November, Martin Husmann dies in a machinery accident at the mill in town (now the Tin Mill Restaurant), prompting George to move in with Charles and Josphine and begin a nursery apprenticeship under his brother-in-law

  • 1850

    • George Husmann follows the promise of gold in California

  • 1851

    • On September 10, Charles Teubner dies unexpectedly, leaving behind a young son, Charles, and Josephine, pregnant with their second child, a boy to be named Fred

  • 1852

    • George Husmann returns to Hermann in March, moves into the Teubner-Husmann house with Josephine, and takes over his late brother-in-law’s nursery business

    • George takes it upon himself to learn as much as he can about winemaking and share his knowledge with the grape-growers of Hermann

  • 1853

    • The Gasconade County Agricultural Society is formed and George Husmann is elected as the first president

  • 1854

    • On May 19, Josephine Teubner dies after treating cholera patients who had arrived from St. Louis. In her will she appoints George as the guardian of her two sons, Charles and Fred

    • On July 13, George marries Louise Kielmann

  • 1855 or 56

    • George introduces the Concord grape to Missouri

  • 1857

    • George Husmann publishes his first work on wine, Weinbau in Amerika (Viticulture in America)

  • 1858

    • Charles Manwaring of New York arrives in Hermann and begins a business partnership with George Husmann, also moving in with George in the Teubner-Husmann House

  • 1859

    • George purchases 120 acres east of Hermann to plant vineyards — this land is now the site of Oak Glenn Winery

  • 1861

    • George Husmann and Charles Manwaring both volunteer to serve in the Union Army

    • On December 5, Charles becomes George’s brother-in-law when he marries Amalia Kielmann, Louise Husmann’s sister

  • 1863

    • George Husmann returns to his vineyard and nursery work full-time

    • Husmann publishes “As Essay on the Culture of the Grape in the Great West”

  • 1864

    • On Saturday, May 14, Charles Manwaring is shot by Confederate bushwhackers at Hermann Wharf, dying the following day at the Teubner-Husmann house

  • 1865

    • George Husmann serves as a delegate to the Missouri State Constitutional Convention, where he adds his signature to the Ordinance Abolishing Slavery

  • 1866

    • Husmann publishes his first full-length book, The Cultivation of the Native Grape and the Manufacture of American Wines

    • Husmann begins development of the Bluffton Wine Company, of which he served as president, across the river from Hermann in the town of Bluffton

  • 1869

    • Bluffton Wine Company is ready for production, Husmann sells his property at what is now Oak Glenn Winery and moves with his family to Bluffton to dedicate himself to the new company

    • Husmann begins publication of the monthly journal The Grape Culturist

  • 1872

    • Bluffton Wine Company fails

    • The Grape Culturist publishes its final issue

    • Husmann moves to Sedalia, Missouri, and establishes a commercial nursery

  • 1870s

    • European vines are suffering from an epidemic of the Phylloxera louse. Husmann helps save the French wine industry by sending native American Phylloxera-resistant rootstocks to Europe

  • 1878

    • Husmann begins working as the first Professor of Pomology and Forestry at the University of Missouri at Columbia

  • 1879

    • Three of Husmann’s children — son Carl Georg and twin daughters Johanna and Josephine — enroll in the University of Missouri School of Agriculture

  • 1880

    • Husmann publishes his second book, American Grape Culture and Wine Making

    • In July, Husmann’s 8-year-old son, Charlie, dies after a teenage boy playing with a gun accidentally shoots him

  • 1881

    • Husmann resigns from the University of Missouri and moves with his family to California, where he takes over management of James Simonton’s Talcoa Ranch

  • 1884

    • Husmann, along with two of his sons, purchase the land that will become Oak Glen Winery in Napa’s Chiles Valley

  • 1886

    • Husmann is appointed State Statistical Agent for California for the USDA

  • 1888

    • Husmann publishes his third book, Grape Culture and Wine Making in California

  • 1889

    • Husmann collects California wines for an exhibition at the World’s Fair in Paris

  • 1893

    • Husmann acts as delegate for the California Wine Industry at the World’s Fair in Chicago

  • 1902

    • On November 5, the day after his 75th birthday, George Husmann dies. He is buried in the Tulocay Cemetery in Napa