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Napa Sunrise Rotary 4th of July Parade
Doris Gentry, Sunrise Rotary Parade Chair 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012
THEME: Napa History Celebrates America
GRAND MARSHAL: Jim Asbury
A word from the 4th of July Parade Chair, Doris Gentry
It is time once again for the Napa 4th of July Parade. Wikipedia had a lot to say about the history of Napa. Here is a summary – you can look up more interesting things on other websites but this will get you started!
Napa is RICH in American History. The Town of Napa was founded on Rancho Entre Napa by Nathan Coombs in 1847. John Patchett opened the first commercial winery in the county in 1859. The vineyard and wine cellar were located in an area that is now in the city limits of Napa. Napa County was formed and became one of the original California counties when the state became part of the United States in 1850.
In 1858 the great silver rush began in Napa Valley, and miners flocked to the eastern hills. In the 1860s, mining carried on, on a large scale, with quicksilver mines operating in many areas of Napa County.
By the end of the 20th century's first decade, farmers had planted over 500,000 fruit and nut trees in the county, especially prunes and pears. This helped to soften the blows to the agricultural economy caused by the phylloxera infestation in the county's vineyards and upcoming prohibition that crippled the wine industry, but resulted in a boom for shipping grapes to immigrant, home winemakers across the country.
During World War II, the Basalt Rock Company located south of the City of Napa on the Napa River, built 3 dozen salvage rescue tugs for the United States Navy.[10] Following the war, several small and medium size businesses began operating in the County. A large majority of these businesses were related to the wine industry and tourism. Agriculture in the county remained very diverse until late in the 20th century when wine grapes again became the primary focus. While vineyards were planted on well over 90% of the agricultural land in the county by the end of the 20th century, modern day farmers have recently began exploring the possibility of raising other food crops in order to again diversify and take advantage of growing conditions.
Thank you Napa for such a GREAT 4th of July Parade