Vineyards & Winery
A new scheme of land speculation and colonization based on the industry of grape growing culture had begun to develop before the end of 1893. Observations in early promotional materials of the Tallapoosa Land, Mining and Manufacturing Company proved that “grapes grow in luxuriance and abundance, the planting of vineyards should be a profitable industry”.
Start of new Vineyard in Tallapoosa
The most influential person getting the wine industry started in Tallapoosa was Ralph Spencer. Through promotional efforts of Spencer, Tallapoosa became a town of significant industrial importance in western Georgia.
After the Industrial Boom, 1887-1893, when Tallapoosa’s population reached 3,000, Spencer left for a while, but returned with a plan for the idle mining lands - he would grow wine grapes with skilled grape growers. He said the soil in Tallapoosa seemed to be equal to that of France and should be suitable for growing grapes. Spencer and several others planted grapes. His assistant, who was almost entirely in charge of the company, was William Wesley Summerlin. He started working with Spencer about 1888.
Conditions in Hungary in the late 1800’s caused many people to leave Hungary and seek a better life elsewhere. A great number of immigrants were peasants who had become free when serfdom was abolished in Hungary in 1848. The aristocratic nature of the Hungarian government caused the poorer classes to suffer. A famine in 1868 forced many Hungarians to migrate to America. The Hungarians were clannish, partly because the Americans would not associate with the “low class” foreigners. Groups of Hungarians and Slovakian immigrants and farmers from other parts of the country were lured to Tallapoosa and Haralson County to develop vineyards, grow grapes and make wine. Most of the immigrants were Catholic, which was the dominate religion in Hungary and brought the Catholic faith to Haralson County.
In addition, many absentee owners bought farms and vineyards as investments. Any of the city’s reputable real estate dealers or merchants could furnish maps relating to the land. Fruit land and vineyards could be purchased on an “Easy Installment Plan”.
During the period of 1893-1897 charters were granted in Haralson County, Georgia to nine companies which were organized for selling land and making wine. The earliest charter was on August 24, 1893 to the Georgia Fruit Growing and Wine Association. This was granted to 37 men. The main office was in Tallapoosa. The capital stock was 25,000 divided into 1000 shares at 25 cents each. The last charter was granted to the Georgia Vineyard on September 10, 1897. This company had 20,000 shares at $5.00 each. Then from April 1894 to May 1895, the Steadman Colony of Fruit Growers, the Highland Colony of Fruit Growers, the Southland Colony of Fruit Growers and the Southern Homestead and Fruit Growing Company were organized. All of the principal offices were in Tallapoosa.
Settlers had to be secured for the colonies which were planned by the wine making and land companies because grape growing was a specialized business which called for training and experience in order to do it well.
Spencer made contacts with experts in growing grapes. Spencer found a Catholic Priest, Father Francis Janisek, and made a compact with him that he would recruit 400 of Pennsylvania's Hungarian immigrants to leave their coal mining jobs and relocate to 2,000 acres near Tallapoosa, where they could produce wine. Spencer would present Janisek an estate of 30 acres, a white castle home, wine cellar and a with a horse and buggy.Led by their priest 200+ families accepted Spencer's invitation. Each family was allotted 10 acres. Two were already planted; the other eight were to be planted by the family. The town site was platted east of Tallapoosa and made into 25 and 50 foot lots with churches and business districts. The community was called Budapest in honor of Budapest, Hungary.
In order to get the right type of grapes for wine making cuttings were imported from Hungary. After the vines began to produce grapes, wineries, vats and specialists were needed to make the wine. According to W.W. Summerlin, some French experts were brought in to make sure the product was just right.
Later a group of Slovakians arrived and settled another village, Nitra. Overlooking the townsites was a home known as The Priest House, Father Janisek’s home. It still stands on the site with its 13 rooms, a domed cupola extending above the second floor, sharply pitched roof with windows in a very large attic, and a full size basement with a wine cellar. Believed by some locals to be haunted.
The Hungarian village, Toka, was settled by the Estavanko family. Toka was laid out east of Nitra and covered about 1200 acres.
"Working in the vineyard", the Estavankos:
Pauline (left) and Catherine "Kate" (right)
The vineyards flourished. The Hungarian colony was a success with wineries springing up everywhere in the area.
Other Haralson fruit colonies included Steadman and Boheme.
West of Tallapoosa, just over the Georgia line in Alabama is a town once known as Zidonia. Ralph Spencer changed this name to Fruithurst, where once again the vineyards began. It is said that his translator George Grunik and Budapests Father Janisek accompanied him, and their names also appear on documents forming these fruit companies.
An 1896 map reveals that by then vineyards covered approximately 12,726 acres of land in Haralson County.
According to the 1900 census on agriculture, Haralson County had 665,885 grapevines and produced 1,593,536 pounds of grapes. No other county in Georgia even came close to these figures.
Haralson County had 500 vineyards covering 5,000 acres. Only 25% of the grape production was marketed, with the great majority going into wine making Wineries were located in Tallapoosa and, according to the 1900 census, 64,115 gallons of wine were produced in Haralson County, more than 15 times the production of second ranking Houston County.
The already existing Dixie Glass Works company was purchased in 1907 by the Glass Manufacturing Company, and the plant was remodeled and enlarged. They made bottles ranging from 1 ounce to 1 gallon. The new company produced about 60,000 bottles monthly and made its own boxes and crates. Justin Jackson was President and J. F. Hinkley was Superintendent.
Ralph Spencer who organized the Georgia Vineyard Company was followed by C.H. Johnson who took charge of all the vineyard interests. Approximately 1,000 acres of land around the town of Tallapoosa were planted in grapes; and the climate, soil and intensive care produced immediate results. A huge shed was constructed for packing grapes to be shipped to northern markets. Grapes were also shipped to other areas of the United States via the Georgia Pacific Railway. The packing of grapes was a lucrative industry.
The vineyards were producing so heavily that it was impossible to get enough refrigerator cars to insure a good marketable condition when the grapes reached the northern markets. Therefore, a large central winery and several independent winery plants were built to make most of the grapes into wine. Tallapoosa was sometimes called “The Largest Wine Center East of the Mississippi”.
The main winery was located on the corner of Williams Street and Atlanta Avenue (Hwy 78). The building had two stories and a basement; wooden vats were in the basement. There was a large press powered by workers walking around and around to turn the wooden masher.
The area south of Tallapoosa was planted in vineyards. Grapes were brought to the winery in large high bed wagons drawn by 4 to 6 horses.
Prohibition from 1920 - 1933 forecast the doom of wine making in Haralson County. There were no other markets for the grapes so the people left the area or became laborers. Today people are gone from Budapest and Nitra. The Budapest Cemetery is still there, but not much else remains.