THE DUO WHO BROUGHT US THE NAPA VALLEY

Joseph Ballinger Chiles (1810-1885), a businessman from Missouri, and Joseph Rutherford Walker, a renowned frontiersman, were pivotal figures in early California history, leading the first organized American settlers to the Napa Valley; a region, that just 9 years later, would become part of the 31st state. Born in Kentucky with lineage tracing back to Jamestown, Chiles moved to Missouri, fought in the Seminole Wars, and then, driven by a thirst for adventure, he and Walker led the Bartleson-Bidwell Party , a group of 32 Americans who, in 1841, "went west" to find a better life. becoming the first to cross the Sierras into Alta California. Although Walker eventually returned to the frontier, Chiles finished his life establishing the Napa Valley as the cradle of American settlement in what would become the Great State of California.

Chiles' initial journey, in 1841, brought him to the Napa Valley, where he reunited with his friend George Yount, a former Missouri neighbor. Recognizing the valley's potential, Chiles returned to Missouri, eventually persuading Yount's daughter and son-in-law to join him on a return trip to California. This marked the beginning of significant American settlement in the region.

Chiles secured a land grant of 8,000 acres in the valley, named Rancho Catacula, and established the first grist mill in Northern California (1845-46), demonstrating his resourcefulness and commitment to building a community. His mill not only produced grain but also, eventually, whiskey. Beyond milling, Chiles also planted some of the first grape vines in the valley, foreshadowing its future as a world-renowned wine region. He made numerous trips between Missouri and California, further solidifying his role as a key founder of the Napa Valley.

Joseph Ballinger Chiles

Joseph Rutherford Walker