John Adlum

John Adlum
Born	Template:Birth date York, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	March 14, 1836(1836-03-14) (aged 76)
Occupation(s)	Viticulturalist, Surveyor, Military officer, Judge
Years active	Late 18th century – early 19th century
Known for	Father of American viticulture; pioneering cultivation of the Catawba grape

John Adlum (April 29, 1759 – March 14, 1836) was an influential American viticulturalist, often hailed as "the father of American viticulture" due to his pioneering role in cultivating the Catawba grape. In addition to his contributions to viticulture, he served during the American Revolutionary War, established himself as a notable surveyor, became one of the initial associate judges in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, and took part in the United States Army throughout the War of 1812.

Early life and military career

Born on April 29, 1759, in York, Pennsylvania, John Adlum was the son of Joseph and Catherine (Abbott) Adlum. His father held positions as sheriff and coroner in York County. Descended from Scots-Irish and English ancestors, Adlum organized a group of local youths at age 15 to support the Revolutionary War. He enlisted on July 7, 1776, in the national forces under George Washington’s command, joining the Flying Camp. After training, he was promoted to corporal and contributed to constructing Fort Lee in New Jersey. Captured by British forces during the Battle of Fort Washington on November 6, 1776, he was held with limited freedom in New York City before being paroled in February 1777.

Due to parole restrictions preventing further combat involvement, Adlum relocated to Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, where his father ran a tanning enterprise. Uninterested in tanning himself, he pursued studies in mathematics and apprenticed as a surveyor. By 1784, he had launched his own surveying business and secured contracts surveying regions such as Presque Isle (now Erie) and evaluating the navigability of the Susquehanna and Schuylkill Rivers. His proficiency and participation in westward expansion allowed him to accumulate modest wealth.

In 1795, Adlum received appointments as one of Lycoming County’s first associate judges and as brigadier general within the Pennsylvania militia. He resigned from his judicial role in 1798 and moved to Havre de Grace, Maryland. There he embarked on farming and began experimenting with native American grape varieties for winemaking after European vines succumbed to pests and disease. In 1809, he crafted a highly regarded wine from the Alexander grape that drew praise from President Thomas Jefferson, who encouraged him to focus on indigenous grapes rather than European imports.

Adlum’s military experience earned him a federal commission as major in the 11th Infantry Regiment of the Provisional Army on January 8, 1799; he was honorably discharged when this unit disbanded in 1800. He married his cousin Margaret K. Adlum in December 1805; they had two children together. Returning to military service in 1807 as a lieutenant and promoted to captain by 1808, Adlum participated actively during the War of 1812, notably engaging British forces during the Raid on Havre de Grace on May 3, 1813.

Horticultural career

In 1814, Adlum relocated his family to the District of Columbia. On December 4, 1816, he acquired land from John Heath located within what is now the Cleveland Park neighborhood north of Georgetown. This property was known as the "Addition to the Rock of Dumbarton," adjacent to land owned by George Corbin Washington—nephew of President George Washington. He expanded his holdings by purchasing an additional parcel in 1819 and another tract named "Gizor" from James Dunlop and John Heugh in 1820. Renaming "Gizor" as "The Vineyard," Adlum constructed a residence for his family there.

Adlum initiated grape cultivation on this farm beginning with cuttings of the Catawba grape obtained from Mrs. Scholl of Clarksburg, Maryland in 1819. Mrs. Scholl mistakenly identified this vine as a Hungarian "Tokay," though she referred to it as Catawba. His first wine production occurred around 1821–1822 with approximately under cultivation by that time. In 1822, Adlum sent a bottle labeled "Tokay" to Thomas Jefferson; however, it did not meet Jefferson’s expectations. By 1823, he had expanded his vineyard to include twenty-two grape varieties and authored A Memoir on the Cultivation of the Vine in America and the Best Mode of Making Wine, recognized as America’s inaugural book on viticulture. He also proposed establishing a federal agricultural experiment station on part of "The Vineyard," though this plan was never realized.

By 1825, Adlum acknowledged that the so-called "Tokay" was not Tokaji but began using the name Catawba consistent with Mrs. Scholl’s original identification. Subsequent research determined Catawba is a hybrid grape native to poor soils along the Catawba River near Asheville, North Carolina.

Botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey described Catawba as "the first great American grape," while Adlum earned distinction as "the father of American viticulture." The grape gained significant recognition when Nicholas Longworth from Cincinnati acquired cuttings from Adlum in 1825 and cultivated it commercially with great success. The next major surge in popularity came around 1845 when William T. Cornell introduced Catawba into the Hudson Valley, leading to widespread cultivation along the East Coast.

Despite these groundbreaking achievements, Adlum’s own winemaking ventures were financially unsuccessful; he added sugar to his musts, blended wild grapes with Catawba for volume increases, and allowed fermentation temperatures up to . Nonetheless, he became nationally recognized as an expert in viticulture through extensive publications and advocacy for its scientific recognition. Financial hardship marked his later years due to these commercial failures.

Adlum sought unsuccessfully for his 1828 work Adlum on Making Wine to be adopted by the federal government as an official viticulture textbook. By that period, Longworth noted Adlum’s impoverished condition. After 1830, Adlum ceased contributing articles or participating in debates over winemaking practices. In order to support his family beginning in 1831, he reluctantly accepted a modest pension for his Revolutionary War service.

Death

John Adlum passed away at his residence known as "The Vineyard" on March 1, 1836. While documentation is somewhat ambiguous, historian Bessie Wilmarth Gahn reports that it is commonly accepted Adlum was first interred at the Presbyterian Burying Ground located in Georgetown. Following the death of Margaret Adlum in 1852, it is believed that both were subsequently relocated to Oak Hill Cemetery nearby. According to Gahn and wine historian Thomas Pinney, Adlum’s burial site remained unmarked or forgotten for an extended period. Between 1852 and 1924, his descendants—including four grandchildren of Margaret Adlum Barber—were also laid to rest beside him.

By April 1854, the family plots for the Adlums and Barbers had been clearly defined, with the Washington Evening Star praising their aesthetic appeal.

Legacy

In 1807, botanist Constantine Samuel Rafinesque commemorated Adlum by naming a climbing vine genus Adlumia in his honor.

Adlum’s influence on American grape cultivation and winemaking faded into obscurity until the late 19th century when botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey rekindled interest in his pioneering work.

The estate known as "The Vineyard" gradually deteriorated; part of the land was acquired by the federal government in 1903. The original house was demolished in 1911 to make way for the construction of the National Bureau of Standards headquarters, which today operates as the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The Williamsburg Winery located in Williamsburg, Virginia, offers a Chardonnay bearing John Adlum’s name as a tribute to his legacy.

Published works by Adlum

• A Memoir on the Cultivation of the Vine in America and the Best Mode of Making Wine. 1823.
• A Memoir on the Cultivation of the Vine in America and the Best Mode of Making Wine. Enlarged edition, 1828.
• Adlum on Making Wine. 1826.

Bibliography

• Anspach, William Reid. Historical Sketches of the Bench and Bar of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, 1795–1960. Williamsport, Pa.: Lycoming Law Association, 1961.
• Bailey, Liberty Hyde. Cyclopedia of American Agriculture: A Popular Survey of Agricultural Conditions, Practices and Ideals in the United States and Canada. New York: Macmillan, 1911.
• Black, Merle R., and Emmet J. Judziewicz. Wildflowers of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Region: A Comprehensive Field Guide. Madison, Wisc.: University of Wisconsin Press, 2009.
• Butler, James L., and John J. Butler. Indiana Wine: A History. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 2001.
• Dann, John C. The Revolution Remembered: Eyewitness Accounts of the War for Independence. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983.
• Gahn, Bessie Wilmarth. "Major John Adlum of Rock Creek." Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C., 1938.
• Historic American Buildings Survey. Oak Hill Cemetery, Gatehouse. HABS No. DC-249. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, 1969.
• McCullough, David. 1776. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2005.
• Peter, Grace Dunlop, and Joyce D. Southwick. Cleveland Park, An Early Residential Neighborhood of the Nation's Capital. Washington, D.C.: Cleveland Park Community Library Committee, 1958.
• Pinney, Thomas. A History of Wine in America: From the Beginnings to Prohibition. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1989.
• Tebbitt, Mark C., Magnus Lidén, and Henrik Zetterlund. Bleeding Hearts, Corydalis, and Their Relatives. Portland, Ore.: Timber Press, 2008.
• Williams, Paul Kelsey, and Kelton C. Higgins. Cleveland Park. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.

External links

• John Adlum collection housed at the William L. Clements Library.