Edward Turner Bale

Edward Turner Bale (1810 – October 9, 1849) was an English immigrant physician who built the Bale Grist Mill in Napa County, California.

Life

He arrived from England in Monterey, California in 1837 on the H.M.S. Harriet, having served as the ship's surgeon. He soon became Surgeon-In-Chief of the Mexican Army under General Mariano Vallejo, and on March 21, 1839, married Vallejo's niece Maria Ignacia Soberanes. After becoming a citizen of Mexico in March 1841, in June, Bale was granted the Rancho Carne Humana, which comprised the land between what is now Rutherford and Calistoga, California.

Construction of the Bale Grist Mill located between St. Helena and Calistoga was completed in 1846, the same year the Bear Flag Revolt claimed independence from Mexico. Bale's connection to the Bear Flag Party is uncertain, but there is evidence that they met at his mill before the capture of Sonoma. Several of Bale's acquaintances were members of the Bear Flag Party.

During the California Gold Rush, Bale tried his hand at mining, and eventually caught a fever from which he never recovered. He died on October 9, 1849.

Legacy

On December 26, 1860, his daughter Carolina married winemaker Charles Krug. The dowry Bale left for her included 20 acres (0.08 km²) of land north of St. Helena, California, on which Krug planted a vineyard.

Bale, California is named for him.

References

• Napa County Chronology, based on information from the book From Golden Fields to Purple Harvest
• WineDay: How to Start a Winery by Fred McMillin
• reproduced at pashnit.com: Bale Grist Mill brochure
• Dean Albertson, 1949, Dr. Edward Turner Bale, Incorrigible Californio, California Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Sep., 1949), pp. 259–269