Joshua
Chauvet —
A Man with
a Vision
by Nancy Bauer
The building Chauvet
used as a grist mill
and later as a brandy
distillery is now
enjoying a new life as
an Italian restaurant,
11 Mulina.
В у
no small measure, Joshua
Chauvet was one of the most inno¬
vative pioneers to set foot in Glen
Ellen. Not only did he excel in the
art of making fine wines and brandy,
he left a group of landmarks that
remain today.
Chauvet was born in France's
Champagne province in 1822. His
father was a millwright who owned
his own mill. Joshua went to work at
a young age to help his father and
learn his trade.
He left France as a young man
with very little money to seek his
fortune in the Gold Rush. Arriving
in San Francisco in 1850, he headed
for Calaveras County but had little
luck searching for gold. Instead he
settled in Mokelumne Hill and went
into the bakery business. There
being no flour mill, he erected one
and started supplying flour to other
bakeries in the area. He seemed to be
in the right place at the right time:
soon he was getting $100 a barrel for
flour, and his bread fetched a dollar
a loaf.
Gathering up his profits, he
headed west for the Valley of the
Moon, where General Mariano
Vallejo was still the major land-
owner. In 1861, Chauvet paid the
General $2,500 for 500 acres at the
junction of Sonoma Creek and
Asbury Creek. The site already had a
sawmill, which Chauvet converted
to a flour mill complete with a grist
mill.
But Chauvet also saw a future in
the fertile soil and, following his
French roots, he planted vineyards
there in the 1870's. His yield proved
to be exceptionally good, and with
business foresight, he returned to
France to purchase top grade distill¬
ery equipment for making brandy.
Chauvet had it shipped back home
via Cape Horn and in 1890 con¬
verted his grist mill into a brandy
distillery.
This mill structure has survived
the years and today houses
И
Mulina
Cucina restaurant. The copper
brandy distilling equipment
Chauvet brought from France is on
display there. The old mill's water
wheel has been also restored, and
the site is a registered Sonoma
County historic building. The
restaurant's name, II Mulina (Italian
for The Mill) derives from that.
Chauvet also built a large winery
for his wine operations; this building
was located just south of the present
Jack London Village on Arnold
Drive. By 1880, Chauvet was produc¬
ing 125,000 gallons a year; by 1888
production had reached 175,000
gallons.
Chauvet's location lent itself
beautifully to the wine and brandy
business. He powered his machinery
with a waterwheel alongside Asbury
Creek. He also supplied the town's
residents with an excellent water
system. The 1906 earthquake dam¬
aged his winery building, which he
subsequently rebuilt shortly before
he died in 1908.
In 1864, Chauvet had married
Ellen Sullivan, a native of Ireland;
they had two sons, Henry and
Robert, who also became successful
businessmen. After Joshua Chauvet
died, the family sold the winery in
1914 to Louis Pagani, who in 1940
moved the winery to its present
location on Arnold Drive. That
building still stands today and
houses the Glen Ellen History
Center and the Carmenet Market¬
place and Tasting Room.
Other Chauvet landmarks re¬
maining include the Chauvet Hotel
and the Chauvet Building, both in
the heart of Glen Ellen on Arnold
Drive. **■
SOURCES:
Clip File at the Library of the
Sonoma League for Historic
Preservation, Vasquez House,
Sonoma.
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