Femme
Osage Township's Vineyards in 1879
by Bob Brail
Anyone driving westward in southern St. Charles County
along Highway 94 in the early evening of a weekend day can bear
witness to the fact that a lot of traffic is heading east then.
Although some of these drivers and their passengers have been cycling
on the Katy Trail, many of them are returning from dining and
drinking at one of the several wineries situated along Highway 94.
Several large wineries along the road do a thriving business.
The
production of wine in Boone-Duden country goes back a long way.
Many early vineyards in the southern part of St. Charles County were
planted by German immigrants who settled in the area after reading
Gottfried Duden's Report
on a Journey to the Western States of North America.
In this book, published in 1829 in Germany, Duden stated how the
beauty of what we now know as the Boone-Duden area reminded him of
his native environs near the Rhine River. Duden himself eventually
settled in Dutzow. Many of the Germans who followed his example
planted vineyards.
By the time the 1880 Federal Censuses were taken, grape
production was well-established in the southern part of St. Charles
County, especially in Femme Osage Township. The 1880 Agricultural
Census collected information concerning agricultural pursuits
including size and value of the farm, fences, pastures, livestock,
and production of milk, butter, cheese, and eggs, among other things.
One of those other categories was vineyards, including acreage,
pounds of grapes sold, and gallons of wine made. (The 1880
Agricultural Census was taken in 1880 but collected information from
1879.)
What
one notices immediately is that a lot of people living in Femme Osage
Township kept vineyards. In fact, there were forty-six grape growers
among the approximately 300 names listed in the Agricultural Census
for the township. The majority of these growers were concentrated in
and around the village of Augusta. To gain a very general idea of
where these vineyards were located, imagine a semicircle rounded to
the north with Schell Road on the west corner and Klondike Park on
the east corner, and Augusta at the center point. Another group of
vineyards was spread along both sides of Highway F, north of Femme
Osage Creek Road. In 1879 these forty-six vineyards sold more than
115,000 pounds of grapes and made nearly 35,000 gallons of wine.
Unfortunately the Agricultural Census does not specify the amout of
grapes grown.
Only
one-third of these people identified themselves as winegrowers in the
1880 Population Census. Many of them apparently thought of their
vineyards as simply a part of their larger farming operations.
Others had occupations like carpentry and masonry which suggests
their wine making was a way to make a little extra cash or simply to
have wine for their household.
All
of these people were men except for Agnes Brockmeier, who kept a
quarter acre vineyard on her farm where she was “keeping house.”
The Population Census clarifies that Agnes' son Frank farmed her
place. The Population Census also explains the relationship between
William Koch, who sold more grapes than anyone else in the township,
and his father Christian Koch, who identified himself as a brewer.
Clearly the son was selling grapes to many more men than just his
father.
Vineyards
in Boone-Duden country have a long story to tell. It begins with
German immigrants in the first half of the nineteenth century, and it
continues today with the many popular wineries along Highway 94. One
important part from the middle of the story is found in the
Agricultural Census of 1880.
Sources:
1875 Atlas Map of St. Charles County;
1880 Agricultural and Population Censuses; “A History of Missouri
Wine” (feastmagazine.com).