San
Joaquin County
Biographies
PETER HEIL
Prominent among the most successful
vineyardists of San Joaquin County is the independent packer, Peter Heil, who
is widely and favorably known for his association with the Peppers Fruit
Company of Lodi. He was born in Russia
on April 21, 1865 and was reared on a farm.
In 1887 when he had attained his twenty-second year, he came across the
ocean to the United States, and made his way to the west, at first as far as
South Dakota, where he worked on the great Dakota farms. Later he rented some land and for four years
farmed for himself. Then he removed to
Pierce County, North Dakota, where he took up a homestead of 160 acres; and
having built for himself a home, he proved up on this, and cultivated the land. At the end of eight years, when he had added
many improvements in buildings, he sold out and prepared to reinvest the
proceeds. He decided, however, to come
to California; and so it happened that he came out to Lodi, arriving in
December, 1905. He saw the old Green
Ranch, and taking a fancy to a part of it, he bought twenty-five acres from J.
W. Robinson. This was located near
Victor, and he at once began to plant a vineyard of Tokay and Zinfandel
grapes. He built a new set of buildings,
including a fine residence, and installed two pumping plants, one of seven
horsepower for the farm, and the other of two horsepower for the house, but
these he has replaced with a ten horsepower motor. He put in cement pipes as part of a
first-class irrigation system, and also erected a packing shed. He has since sold off a part of this ranch,
but he still has fifteen acres, and there he makes his home. In 1920 he produced twelve tons of Tokay, and
seven tons of Zinfandel grapes per acre.
Mr. Heil has also bought and sold
other vineyards with profit. Besides the
home-ranch, he owns a Tokay vineyard of fifteen acres located one and a half
miles south of Victor, which he bought in 1918 for $600 per acre. He installed a fine pumping plant, with
cement pipes, and has made it one of the most productive in the county; in 1920
it yielded some sixteen tons to the acre.
That year Mr. Heil received $1,000 in cash per acre. The same year he purchased another vineyard
of ten acres nearby, for which he paid $2,000 per acre; and this he has also
improved with a good pumping plant and sold at an advance in price, and bought
twenty acres three and one half miles southwest of Victor. In addition to the above property, Mr. Heil
owns a house and two lots in Victor, and five lots in Lodi.
In South Dakota, in the year 1890,
Mr. Heil was married to Miss Caroline Newhearth, a
native of Russia, who came to the United States with her folks when only one
year of age. They have had eleven
children, only seven of whom are now living.
Emanuel and Ella were born in Dakota; and Leodine,
Freda, Theodore, Eugene and Regina were born in California. The family attends the German Reformed Church
of Lodi.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1364. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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