ECHOES OF THE PAST

EL MOLINO FOLLOWS THE FOOTSTEPS OF NAPA PIONEERS

- MaryAnn Worobiec

EI Molino is part of Napa's rich history. Its tale begins with Dr. Edward Turner Bale, an English physician who became surgeon-in-chief of the Mexican Army under General Mariano Vallejo. He married Vallejo's niece Maria Ignacia Soberanes in 1839. After becoming a Mexican citizen in 1841, Bale was granted more than 17,000 acres through what was officially known as the Rancho Carne Humana Mexican grant, which covered the land between Rutherford and Calistoga.

Bale moved his family to the area in 1843. He began working to build a water-powered grist mill, which was complete in 1846, the year the Bear Flag Revolt (of which Vallejo was a supporter) claimed the region's independence from Mexico. At the time, the wheel-powered Bale Grist Mill would have been a focal point in Napa Valley; not only did it grind grain into flour or meal, it was likely at the center of both the local economy and social life.