Pierre Hypolite Dallidet (1822-1909)

Introduction

Pierre Hypolite Dallidet is celebrated as the first commercial winemaker in San Luis Obispo County, and he confirmed his fame when he also became the first commercial distiller in the county. His legend is one of adventure, upheaval, service to his country, viticulture, and travels abroad—from his village in southwestern France to Tahiti to Hangtown and finally to San Luis Obispo, California.

Impact On The Wine History Of San Luis Obispo County

• First to build a French Wine Cellar under his home in San Luis Obispo County. This cellar was used for the making, aging, and storing of the first wines produced in his in the late 1860s and 1870s, prior to the building of his winery. It served as the first commercial distillery in the 1880s and 1890s.
• First to design and build a winery adjacent to his home in the area now known as the city of San Luis Obispo. The exact date is unknown but based on diaries and local correspondence, the construction was completed in the 1870s,
• Leader and mentor in the development of local viticulture and winemaking.
• First to be licensed as a Commercial Winery.
• First to be licensed as a Commercial Distillery.
• First to purchase a large commercial copper still
• First to mix wines and sell them as blended wines.
• First to age wines as long as twenty years.
• Communicated with French resources to learn about winemaking practices in France.
• Planted many French grape varieties in his vineyard.
• French diplomats sent cuttings to Dallidet to graft onto rootstock to ensure the survival of the French grape varieties that were devastated by the yellow louse Phylloxera. His work preserved many grape varieties and provided him with direct knowledge of which grapes grew well in San Luis Obispo County and how to manage various grape varieties in the vineyard.
• First to plant over 125 grape varieties during his career, including Charbono, Black Malaga, Muscat of Alexandria, and Mission Grapes.
• First local grower to realize that mission grape stock was resistant to diseases such as Phylloxera.
• First to develop a distribution and marketing strategy for selling his wine and brandy in San Francisco and other areas of California.
• First to share his knowledge of modern viticulture extensively with local growers and winemakers.
• First to describe the analysis of profits of both wine and brandy sold to distributors in San Francisco. His analysis showed that brandy sales were much more profitable than the sale of wine.
• Dallidet became the largest landowner in San Luis Obispo and shaped the design and development of the city of San Luis Obispo.
• The Dallidet Adobe was a gathering place for those interested in literature, music, art, and science.
• His legacy is the Dallidet Adobe and Gardens which are filled with personal items owned and treasured by the Dallidet family. This historical house provides future generations with insights into the lives of people living in  the 19th century from 1860 to 1900. The Dallidet Adobe is California Landmark # 720.

From the 1860s to the 1890s, Pierre Dallidet was well known for his pioneering commercial wine and brandy making, sourcing his fruit from his own vineyards and orchards. He was famous for assisting the French government in saving the premium French grape varietals decimated by the Phylloxera epidemic that destroyed historic vineyards in France in the 1870s.

The French Ministry of Agriculture contacted French men living in areas of Mediterranean climates in the Western Hemisphere. They were asked to accept grapevine cuttings and graft them onto local rootstock to preserve the premium varietals of French viticulture. Vineyards owned by viticulturalists of French descent were planted with these cuttings in Chile, California, Delaware, Upper New York State, and the Ohio River Valley in an international effort to save the French varietals. At the end of the epidemic, fresh grapevine cuttings were returned to France to replant their vineyards. Pierre Dallidet’s son, Louis Pasqual, recorded the dates and details in his diaries of numerous trips to the French Consulate in San Francisco to receive French cuttings. Louis Pasqual, who was attending Heald’s Business College in San Francisco at the time, shipped the designated grapevine cuttings to his father in San Luis Obispo.

A French Soldier Seeks His Fortune In The California Gold Rush

Pierre Dallidet was born on October 1, 1823 in the village of Paizan le Cort in Canton de Melle in southwestern France. He grew up in France, experiencing the turmoil of war, government upheaval, the Napoleonic Dictatorship, and the July Revolution of 1830. At this time, unrest and unemployment were festering at high levels, and the future for young men and women looked bleak. Young men were encouraged to join the army, and they often served overseas in French Colonies where they could ultimately retire from service and live comfortably as middle-class farmers.

In 1843, at age 20, Pierre decided to enlist as a French “soldat” for a salary of one centime per day, in addition to food and housing. He was assigned to the Royal Corps of Artillerie and sent to the Island of Tahiti in December 1846. It was a peaceful environment with a barter economy. He learned skills as a trained carpenter in the military and saved his salary for future investments. This experience was key to shaping his success as a farmer and viticulturist in San Luis Obispo County.

Pierre was discharged from the Royal Artillerie on December 31, 1850. He joined others on a voyage to San Francisco Bay to seek his fortune in the California gold fields. He settled in Hangtown, now known as Placerville, but his timing was unfortunate. California was transitioning to an Anglo-American society with little tolerance for other ethnic groups, especially those seeking their fortunes during the gold rush days. Mexicans, Chinese, and the French were persecuted in many ways from brutal physical punishment to restrictive laws that prevented them from owning land or working mining claims. The “Foreign Miners License Tax” required non-citizens to pay $20 per month to work their claims. We do not know how much success Pierre had in mining gold, but he did accumulate enough money to purchase significant land holdings in San Luis Obispo. By 1870 he owned 150 acres of land in what is now downtown San Luis Obispo. By the mid-1880s, Pierre Dallidet was the largest single landholder in the City.

Dallidet Travels South From Hangtown To San Luis Obispo

The perilous journey from Hangtown to San Luis Obispo took place in late 1853 with approximately 150 French “soldiers of fortune” who decided to move on to Mexico, where former soldiers were welcomed to help rebels establish French colonies in the state of Sonora. As they passed through the Central Coast, some soldiers decided to settle in San Luis Obispo and others in Santa Barbara in climates similar to their native villages in France.. Pierre saw the opportunity to make a new life for himself, first as a carpenter, then as a landowner. He hoped to make his fortune farming and exporting his produce to the outside world. Dallidet established the first commercial winery in San Luis Obispo County. However, his greatest contributions were the study of grape varieties and viticulture that thrived locally and sharing that knowledge with fellow farmers. He established criteria for winemaking and provided guidance in the business of profitable wine production and distribution.

Marriage And Family – Building A Home And A Legacy

In the 1850s and 1860s, Pierre acquired land, built his own home of adobe, planted his vineyards, built a commercial winery, bottled and sold his first wines. He married Ascension Salazar in 1855 who bore him nine children. She, unfortunately, died during the birth of her ninth child. The children were raised by Pierre who expanded the Adobe home as the family grew up. He paid for two of his sons to attend Business College and for his daughters to study art and literature.

Pierre began to develop real estate projects with his brother-in-law Victorino Chaves. He acquired 150 acres suitable for viticulture and farming, including all the mission-era vineyards, in what is now known as downtown San Luis Obispo. Dallidet invested in land in Cayucos and local mines in Cambria. He developed rental properties and became the largest landowner in San Luis Obispo. 

Pierre dreamed of growing and producing commodities that he could sell locally and throughout California to increase his wealth and develop a steady stream of income. The Mediterranean climate was ideal for growing grapes, fruit and vegetables. Although he spoke English with a thick accent, he was very astute at business. He worked tirelessly to find ways to increase his profits and expand his investments in land and development. He shared his information with his friends and encouraged them to use efficient farming methods and grow the grape varieties that thrived in San Luis Obispo. He started making wine in 1869 so it is likely that his first grape vineyards were planted in 1865

When the French vineyardists and botanists reached out to the French citizens living in California, Pierre Hypolite Dallidet agreed to plant cuttings from vineyards in France to conserve the grape varieties ravaged by the Phylloxera louse. He received cuttings from the French Diplomats in San Francisco and studied rootstock growing in the county. Dallidet determined that the mission grape rootstock planted by the padres was resistant to phylloxera and he grafted multiple grape varieties onto the stock to test his theories.

Dallidet collaborated with other vintners to plant a variety of grapes on disease-resistant rootstock. He planted Charbono, Black Malaga Muscat of Alexandria and many other grape varieties. He sold cuttings to other vineyardists and consulted with them on grafting cuttings to the mission grape rootstock which appeared to be hardy and resistant to disease. Local growers, including A. B. Hasbrouck, shared their knowledge, their cuttings, and their rootstock with Dallidet. 

Dallidet bottled his wine and sold it locally as well as throughout the state of California. Dallidet is the first winemaker in the county to make blended wines. His wines are mentioned in a number of newspaper articles with praise. He had the skills to make his own wine barrels in a French-style wine cellar below his adobe, but it is not certain that he became a cooper. 

According to the Daily Republic, in an article published on Thursday, October 3, 1889, “Until the last two or three years there was scarcely any wine made except by Mr. Dallidet, who usually made about 6,000 or 8,000 gallons annually and a few hundred gallons of brandy. Wine made from the mission grape and bottled twenty years ago by Mr. Dallidet is now equal to the best Chateau wine of France.” This is proof that age and skillful bottling are the chief factors in making good wine in this locality.

Mr. Dallidet kept financial records and noted that during the financial boom of the 1880s, his wine made a profit of 25 cents per bottle less 9 cents per bottle for shipping. His brandy, shipped in the same size bottle, yielded a 75-cent profit per bottle less the 9 cents shipping cost. In 1885 Dallidet bought a large copper still with the capacity to hold 187 gallons from J.L. McNally for the large sum of $170. He applied to the Internal Revenue Service, the federal agency that regulated alcohol production and sales, for a license to distill brandy. His friends Marcas Lasar and J.J. Simmler posted the security bonds for this operation. Dallidet became the first licensed distiller in San Luis Obispo County. Dallidet had the only distillery in the county prior to World War I. Local records show that Mr. Dallidet ceased making brandy and wine in the mid-1890s. He achieved his dream of making a product that he could sell to the outside world profitably. In 1898 Dallidet listed his assets as valued at $23,750. His assets had increased in 1889 to $24.598.

The Panic Of 1893

The national economy experienced a severe decline. But the value of property in San Luis Obispo had begun to decline at least five years earlier when investors realized that the cost of getting their agricultural goods to market continued to increase. The railroads had been delayed in reaching the county so both access to markets and the cost of shipping made many products unprofitable. Investors turned away from the area.

Pierre Hypolite Dallidet Jr. was financially burdened by the amount of funds he had lent to finance his eldest son Pierre Hypolite Dallider Jr. who speculated in land, mining and local businesses. His son gradually became a radical and joined the Populist Party. He ran for County Clerk and lost the election. He was known to be armed and was often abusive and unkind to his family.

On March 18, 1897, this eldest son entered the Dallidet gardens and argued with his family. As the argument escalated, the younger son John, armed himself and returned to shoot his eldest brother twice. The sheriff was called and reported at trial that Pierre Hypolite Dallidet Jr. told Sheriff Ballou “John shot me but I don’t want anything done to him. It was a family quarrel.” However, John was arrested. Dr. Norton and L.M. Kaiser posted $10,000 for the security bond. There were months of preparation and a jury was selected for the trial. John was acquitted of murder on November 9, 1897. The cost of the trial forced Dallidet Sr. to mortgage his properties and in 1898 he was almost bankrupt. The Commercial Bank assumed his mortgages and the land he had acquired, with the exception of the Dallidet Adobe and Gardens, was sold.

Conclusion

John Dallidet left San Luis Obispo and moved to Mexico. He worked in Northern Sonora as a mining engineer. He married and had one daughter. 

Pierre died in 1909. His later life was marred by financial ruin, family disputes, one son murdering another. He reminisced that his home attracted artists, archaeologists, writers, and musicians. His five surviving children were educated and talented. He served in local government and contributed to local culture. His last surviving son, Paul Dallidet, willed the family adobe and garden to the City of San Luis Obispo at his death in 1958. The Dallidet Adobe and Gardens are located at 1185 Pacific St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 and open to the public from April to October. The Dallidet Adobe is recognized as a California Landmark #720.

Dallidet Timeline
Pierre Hypolite Dallidet

• 1823: Pierre Hypolite Dallidet is born on October 1 at Paizan de Cort in southwestern France. His family lives in poverty.
• 1840: Ascension Conception Salazar is born in New Mexico.
• 1843: Dallidet enlists in the French Army; this is the best alternative for a young man with few opportunities to make a living.
• 1844: Dallidet is assigned to the Royale Corps of Artillerie. He is trained in carpentry and building skills while serving in the French army.
• 1846: Dallidet is sent from France to the Island of Tahiti, which is located within the Society Islands, a part of French Polynesia. He serves there for the remainder of his tour of duty.
• 1848: Gold is discovered in California on January 2.
• 1850: California is the 31st state founded in the United States of America. San Luis Obispo is designated one of the original 27 counties in California.
• 1850: Dallidet is discharged from the army on December 31. He has accumulated savings during his six years of service in the military.
• 1851: Dallidet sails to San Francisco and seeks to establish his own mining claim in Hangtown, now known as Placerville. He is not successful as a gold miner. He establishes a vocation as a carpenter.
• 1853: The California Gold Rush peaks; many immigrants seek employment or land in other areas of California.
• 1853: Dallidet travels south toward Mexico and arrives in San Luis Obispo. He rents lodgings from the Gabriel Salazar family. Dallidet works with the head of the Salazar family, Victorino Chaves, to help Victorino develop the Salazar family properties. He uses his carpentry skills and builds a reputation for his own business.
• 1854: Shortly after moving to San Luis Obispo, Dallidet purchases his own property from Vincente Canet.  It is located in the Chorro Valley and marks the beginning of his real estate empire.
• 1855: Dallidet marries Ascension Salazar, sister-in-law to Victorino Chaves on September 11.
• 1856: Dallidet builds a three-room home of adobe bricks next to the Salazar family adobe. This is the first adobe in the county to be built over a French wine cellar. The Dallidet family expands the home as their family grows larger; the first and second generations will occupy the family adobe for over 100 years. Today this adobe home is open to the public six months a year and is filled with books, art, archaeological and scientific artifacts. The piano in the living room is believed to have been brought to California by ship from Europe. The Adobe is State Historical Landmark #720.
• 1857: Pierre Hypolite Dallidet, Jr is born.  (1857-1897)
• 1859: Maria Ascension Dallidet is born.      (1859-1913)
• 1861: Dolores Eliza Dallidet is born.             (1861-1894)
• 1863: Louis Pascal Dallidet is born.              (1863-1913)
• 1863: Phylloxera is first reported in France in the former province of Languedoc.
• 1865: Rosea H. Dallidet is born     (1865-1943)
• 1867: John Bautista Dallidet is born.            (1867-1943)
• 1868: The Presidential Election Voters list shows Dallidet as a United States citizen and confirms his profession as a “carpenter.”
• 1869: Mariana Dallidet is born and dies at one month of age.
• 1870s: The louse, Phylloxera, decimates French vineyards. Dallidet assisted the French government in preserving the French vineyards by receiving cuttings from French growers and grafting the cuttings onto his own Mission grape disease-resistant rootstock. From 1870 to 1890,  Dallidet is known for mentoring many winemakers, selling cuttings, producing excellent wines, and growing over 200 grape varieties.
• 1871: San Luis Obispo receives a patent and officially becomes a town in February.
• 1871: Dallidet is listed on local censuses and reports his occupations as carpenter, meat seller, and winemaker between 1855 and 1871.
• 1871: Pablo (Paul) Dallidet is born.                   (1871-1958)
• 1872: Dallidet purchases 2.97 acres on the edge of San Luis Obispo and acquires 1500 sheep. In the Book of Deeds C, dated 29 January 1872 from the Board of Trustees to Pierre Hypolite Dallidet, the following item appears, “1st tract of land on Palm Street in said town.”
• 1873: Frenchman Julès Émile Planchon, botanist and head of the department of botanical sciences at the University of Montpellier, begins his research on the microscopic yellow aphid-like pest. He is known for identifying and developing the solution to the Phylloxera Epidemic. The yellow louse was native to America and Planchon’s solution involved the introduction of American rootstock because it was resistant to the infestation. The French government worked with diplomats and Frenchmen around the world to grow French varieties with French cuttings in their own vineyards to save each species. Dallidet participated in this endeavor and is said to have planted over 125 species in his own vineyard over the next 20 years.
• 1874: The town of San Luis Obispo authorizes bridges to be built to cross the San Luis Creek at Broad Street, Chorro Street, and Stenner Creek which afforded citizens living on the east side of the Arroyo to travel directly to the west side of town where the Mission and government buildings were.
• 1876: San Luis Obispo is redesignated as the City of San Luis Obispo.
• 1880s: Economic boom sweeps the country. The Dallidet family is successful in his investments including land development, farming, viticulture and winemaking.
• 1880s: By the mid-1880s, Dallidet is the largest landholder in the city of San Luis Obispo.
• 1880s: Dallidet’s wines are highly praised in local newspapers and journals.
• 1880s: Louis Pasqual Dallidet attends Heald’s Business College in San Francisco. He becomes part of San Francisco society. He keeps a detailed diary and works extensively in the family vineyards, winery and in marketing the wines.
• 1882: A hand-drawn map by Louis Dallidet is the first to show the location of the family adobe, the adjacent winery, the vineyard sections and the orchard. A garden was also located on the property where artichokes, corn, parsley, potatoes and melons are raised.
• 1883: The Dallidet Winery is the first to be licensed in the county; the exact date is not known. By 1883 Dallidet’s seven-acre vineyard is planted with 7,200 vines and his winery is producing 3,300 gallons of wine annually.
• 1884: Dallidet makes $250 per acre from grape and wine sales this year. He offers advice on the economics of selling grapes, wine and brandy to friends.
• 1885: Dallidet is distilling brandy. He purchased a 187 gallon copper still from J.L. McNalley for $170.
• 1886: Dallidet sells 635 gallons of Chardonnay and 2717 gallons of Mission Wine.
• 1888: Land values begin to decline. 
• 1889: The Dallidet vineyard expands to fourteen acres; eleven acres are planted with wine grapes and three acres to table grapes. Pierre Hypolite Dallidet, Sr.’s net worth is listed as $24,598.
• 1890: Pierre Hypolite Dallidet, Sr. allows his business-college educated son, namesake Pierre Hypolite Dallidet Jr., to borrow money, and mortgage his father’s properties, to make unwise investments. He supports the poor judgment and big land promotions of his first-born son which results in plunging the family into debt, foreclosures on their real estate holdings and emergency sales of their properties to pay income taxes and property taxes.
• 1891: The Dallidet Distillery is the first licensed distillery in San Luis Obispo County; it was the only licensed distillery in the county prior to World War I.
• 1894: Eliza Dolores Dallidet dies on October 6 at age 30.
• 1897: John shot his older brother Pierre Hypolite Dallidet, Jr. on March 19  in the gardens of the Dallidet Adobe. Family members were the only witnesses. The young Pierre Hypolite Dallidet Jr.’s final words were “John shot me, but I don’t want anything done to him. It was a family quarrel.”
• 1897: John Dallidet was acquitted by a jury on November 9. The cost of the trial bankrupted the Dallidet family. John left San Luis Obispo and moved to Mexico. He worked as an engineer, married and is the only child of his generation to have children – a daughter.
• 1909: Pierre Dallidet dies. Rose and Paul Dallidet continue to live in the family home in genteel poverty.
• 1913: Maria Ascension Dallidet dies on June 14 at age 52.
• 1943: Rose H. Dallidet dies on June 29 at age 78.
• 1953: Paul Dallidet is destitute and the house and gardens are in need of repair. The property is to be sold to pay property taxes. Attorneys Peter Andre and Miles FitzGerald work with the city of San Luis Obispo to provide Paul with a life estate in the adobe and the rights to continue to live on the property. Paul Dallidet deeds the Dallidet Adobe and Gardens to the newly formed Historical Society. 

• 1958: Paul Dallidet dies on February 23 at age 86.

Resources

History Center of San Luis Obispo County
Website
Records
Translations of correspondence of the Dallidet family
The Diaries of Louis Pasqual Dallidet 1882-1884

The San Luis Obispo Tribune Archives – multiple articles

Agricultural Journals published 1880 to 1900

Census reports 1870 to 1910

Vinos de los Californios by Dan Krieger, Ph.D. February 24, 2005

Dallidet Lands by Ralph J. Leonard (1981)

Dallidet Adobe Historic Structure Report by the Architectural Resource Group (2019)

History of San Luis Obispo County by Myron Angel

Photos found in multiple files and archives