Pierre Sainsevain
Encyclopedia
Pierre "Don Pedro" Sainsevain (1818–1904) was a French settler in California during the Mexican era. Sainsevain was the recipient of a Mexican land grant
, and built a lumber mill
and a flour mill
. He was a member of the first California Constitutional Convention; and became a winemaker and the first producer of sparkling wine in California.
, France to Santa Barbara
on the ship Ayacucho on July 4, 1839. He had been sent by his family to find his uncle Jean-Louis Vignes
in Los Angeles. He settled on Vignes' property, El Aliso, and assisted with growing grapes and oranges, and with winemaking. In 1840, he loaded a shipment of wine and brandy on a ship to sell along the California coast. On this trip, he made his first visit to Monterey
and Branciforte
. In 1841 he worked at Vignes' sawmill near San Bernardino
.
In 1843, Sainsevain was granted Rancho Cañada del Rincon en el Rio San Lorenzo
near Santa Cruz
by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
, and in the Fall of 1843 he built one of the first sawmills in the valley of the San Lorenzo River
, in association with Charles Roussillon (also known as "Rochon"), another Frenchman. In 1844, he was granted permission to start a flour mill with a daily capacity of 75 fanegas on the Guadalupe River
in San Jose
. In 1845, Sainsevain married Paula Suñol (1827–1883), whose father Antonio Maria Suñol owned Rancho Los Coches
. In 1846, Sainsevain and Charles Roussillon built a schooner (the Antonita) on the beach at Santa Cruz. She was launched on June 25, and sailed to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) to have a copper bottom installed. In 1847, Roussillon was the defendant in the first jury trial (Isaac Graham
vs. Charles Roussillon) in California.
In 1848, Sainsevain and Roussillon went to the gold mines near Coloma
. Sainsevain, Roussillon, Antonio Sunol, and Amador, with help from twenty-five Indians, mined gold at Don Pedro’s Bar on the Tuolumne River
. Sainsevain and Roussillon soon had enough of mining and returned to Stockton
in 1849 to open a store supplying the California Gold Rush
miners. They owned a hotel in San Jose that became California's first State House. Sainsevain was a delegate to the 1849 California Constitutional Convention in Monterey
.
In 1865 the Sainsevain brothers bought part of Rain's Rancho Cucamonga
and set out a large vineyard. In 1868 his Claret won best wine at the county fair. In 1870 the Sainsevain brothers moved to Cucamonga
, and ran the vineyard and winery with Joseph S. Garcia. In 1874 the Sainsevains purchased land in Hawker Canyon four miles east of Etiwanda
and built a large stone house and a reservoir.
In 1875, Pierre Sainsevain went to Central America, returning in 1880 to his Sainsevain Villa in San Jose. After his wife's death in 1883, he returned to France, where he spent the rest of his days.
takes its name from Don Pedros Bar mining town.
San Sevaine Lookout in the San Gabriel Mountains, San Sevaine streets in Rancho Cucamonga
, Mira Loma
and Fontana
, and the San Sevaine flood control channel and spreading grounds, are named (with mis-spelling) for the Sainsevain brothers.
, France a village near Bordeaux
. He came to Los Angeles in 1855 to join his brother, Pierre. In 1868, Jean Louis Sainsevain was awarded a contract by the City of Los Angeles to create a new domestic water system.
Ranchos of California
The Spanish, and later the Méxican government encouraged settlement of territory now known as California by the establishment of large land grants called ranchos, from which the English ranch is derived. Devoted to raising cattle and sheep, the owners of the ranchos attempted to pattern themselves...
, and built a lumber mill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
and a flour mill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
. He was a member of the first California Constitutional Convention; and became a winemaker and the first producer of sparkling wine in California.
Life
Sainsevain, a carpenter, came from BordeauxBordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, France to Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
on the ship Ayacucho on July 4, 1839. He had been sent by his family to find his uncle Jean-Louis Vignes
Jean-Louis Vignes
Jean-Louis Vignes , or as he was known to his Mexican neighbors, "Don Luis del Aliso", was a French settler to the Los Angeles area during the Mexican era. He was the first commercial wine maker in California and one of the first men to import and plant European Vitis vinifera grapes in the state...
in Los Angeles. He settled on Vignes' property, El Aliso, and assisted with growing grapes and oranges, and with winemaking. In 1840, he loaded a shipment of wine and brandy on a ship to sell along the California coast. On this trip, he made his first visit to Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
and Branciforte
Branciforte
Branciforte or as it was named originally, Villa de Branciforte, was a secular pueblo established by the Spanish in the of Las Californias Province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, in 1797 on the eastern bluff overlooking the San Lorenzo River...
. In 1841 he worked at Vignes' sawmill near San Bernardino
San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
.
In 1843, Sainsevain was granted Rancho Cañada del Rincon en el Rio San Lorenzo
Rancho Cañada del Rincon en el Rio San Lorenzo
Rancho Cañada del Rincon en el Rio San Lorenzo was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Cruz County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena, and confirmed in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico, to Pedro Sainsevain. The name means "valley on a corner on the San Lorenzo River"...
near Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena was a Brigadier General of the Mexican Army, Adjutant-General of the same, Governor, Commandant-General and Inspector of the Department of the California...
, and in the Fall of 1843 he built one of the first sawmills in the valley of the San Lorenzo River
San Lorenzo River
The San Lorenzo River drains a large watershed in Santa Cruz County, California. The headwaters originate in the Santa Cruz Mountains at an elevation of , and the river flows through the San Lorenzo Valley before emptying into the Pacific Ocean at Monterey Bay...
, in association with Charles Roussillon (also known as "Rochon"), another Frenchman. In 1844, he was granted permission to start a flour mill with a daily capacity of 75 fanegas on the Guadalupe River
Guadalupe River (California)
The Guadalupe River is a short river in California whose headwater creeks originate in the Santa Cruz Mountains near the summit of Loma Prieta and Mount Umunhum. The river mainstem now begins on the Santa Clara Valley floor at the northern end of Lake Almaden, which is fed by Los Alamitos Creek and...
in San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. In 1845, Sainsevain married Paula Suñol (1827–1883), whose father Antonio Maria Suñol owned Rancho Los Coches
Rancho Los Coches (Sunol)
Rancho Los Coches was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Roberto Balemino, an indian. The name means Ranch of the Pigs...
. In 1846, Sainsevain and Charles Roussillon built a schooner (the Antonita) on the beach at Santa Cruz. She was launched on June 25, and sailed to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) to have a copper bottom installed. In 1847, Roussillon was the defendant in the first jury trial (Isaac Graham
Isaac Graham
Isaac Graham was a fur trader and mountain man. In 1830, he joined a hunting and trapping party at Fort Smith, Arkansas that included George Nidever. Graham attended the rendezvous of 1832 and took part in the battle of Pierre's Hole. From there, Graham joined Joseph R. Walker's party headed for...
vs. Charles Roussillon) in California.
In 1848, Sainsevain and Roussillon went to the gold mines near Coloma
Coloma, California
Coloma is a census-designated place in El Dorado County, California, USA. It is approximately northeast of Sacramento, California. Coloma is most noted for being the site where James W. Marshall first discovered gold in California, at Sutter's Mill on January 24, 1848, leading to the California...
. Sainsevain, Roussillon, Antonio Sunol, and Amador, with help from twenty-five Indians, mined gold at Don Pedro’s Bar on the Tuolumne River
Tuolumne River
The Tuolumne River is a California river that flows nearly from the central Sierra Nevada to the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley...
. Sainsevain and Roussillon soon had enough of mining and returned to Stockton
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
in 1849 to open a store supplying the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
miners. They owned a hotel in San Jose that became California's first State House. Sainsevain was a delegate to the 1849 California Constitutional Convention in Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
.
Wine
In 1859, Sainsevain sold Rancho Cañada del Rincon en el Rio San Lorenzo, and with his brother, Jean Louis, bought the El Aliso vineyards in Los Angeles from their uncle, Jean-Louis Vignes (also known as "Don Luis Del Aliso"). The firm of Sainsevain Brothers, immediately proceeded to expand the scale of operations at the old El Aliso vineyard. In 1857 they opened a store in San Francisco; and by 1858 they led the state with a production of 125,000 gallons of wine and brandy. In 1857, the San Francisco cellars of the Sainsevain Brothers produced champagne. However, it was not a success, and as a result of their investment in sparkling wine, Sainsevain Brothers was soon in financial difficulties. The partnership was dissolved in the 1860s, and only Jean Louis Sainsevain remained at the El Aliso property when it was sold in 1865.In 1865 the Sainsevain brothers bought part of Rain's Rancho Cucamonga
Rancho Cucamonga
Rancho Cucamonga was a Mexican land grant in present day San Bernardino County, California given in 1839 to dedicated soldier, smuggler and politician, Tiburcio Tapia by Mexican governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. The grant encompassed present day Rancho Cucamonga...
and set out a large vineyard. In 1868 his Claret won best wine at the county fair. In 1870 the Sainsevain brothers moved to Cucamonga
Cucamonga Valley AVA
The Cucamonga Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area in San Bernardino County, California, about west of San Bernardino. Grape cultivation began in the Cucamonga Valley in 1838, and quickly became a major agricultural crop for the area. When Prohibition began in 1920, the Cucamonga Valley...
, and ran the vineyard and winery with Joseph S. Garcia. In 1874 the Sainsevains purchased land in Hawker Canyon four miles east of Etiwanda
Etiwanda, Rancho Cucamonga, California
Etiwanda is the easternmost of three formerly unincorporated communities that became part of Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States in 1977.-History:...
and built a large stone house and a reservoir.
In 1875, Pierre Sainsevain went to Central America, returning in 1880 to his Sainsevain Villa in San Jose. After his wife's death in 1883, he returned to France, where he spent the rest of his days.
Legacy
The Don Pedro Reservoir behind the Don Pedro DamDon Pedro Dam
The Don Pedro Dam, since 1971 also known as the Old Don Pedro Dam, was a dam across the Tuolumne River in Tuolumne County, California. The structure is currently flooded underneath Don Pedro Reservoir, which is formed by the New Don Pedro Dam....
takes its name from Don Pedros Bar mining town.
San Sevaine Lookout in the San Gabriel Mountains, San Sevaine streets in Rancho Cucamonga
Rancho Cucamonga, California
Rancho Cucamonga is a suburban city in San Bernardino County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,269, up from 127,743 at the 2000 census. L. Dennis Michael was elected as Mayor on November 2, 2010. Jack Lam is the City Manager...
, Mira Loma
Mira Loma, California
Mira Loma was a census-designated place in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 21,930 at the 2010 census, up from 17,617 at the 2000 census. Mira Loma was known as Wineville prior to 1930. The name was changed that year to help disassociate the community from the...
and Fontana
Fontana, California
Fontana is a city of 196,069 residents in San Bernardino County, California. Founded in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area...
, and the San Sevaine flood control channel and spreading grounds, are named (with mis-spelling) for the Sainsevain brothers.
Jean Louis Sainsevain
Jean Louis Sainsevain (1817–1889) was born in BégueyBéguey
Béguey is a commune on the right bank of the Garonne river in the Gironde department in southwestern France.-Population:-Personalities:One of Béguey's famous sons is Jean-Louis Vignes, pioneer of the California wine industry.-References:*...
, France a village near Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
. He came to Los Angeles in 1855 to join his brother, Pierre. In 1868, Jean Louis Sainsevain was awarded a contract by the City of Los Angeles to create a new domestic water system.