Josephine Tychson
Josephine Marlin Tychson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | December 18, 1939 (aged 84) |
| Occupation(s) | Winery founder, entrepreneur |
| Known for | Second female entrepreneur to establish and operate a winery in Napa Valley; founder of Tychson Cellars |
Josephine Marlin Tychson (March 5, 1855 – December 18, 1939) holds the distinction of being the second female entrepreneur to establish and operate a winery in Napa Valley. In 1886, she founded a vineyard in St. Helena, which she later sold in 1894. This property eventually became known as Lombarda Cellars and is currently recognized as Freemark Abbey Winery.
Early life
Tychson was born in 1855 into an affluent family from Pennsylvania and was one of eight siblings. Her childhood began in Philadelphia before her family moved to San Lorenzo. After her mother passed away when Josephine was eight years old, her father remarried her aunt, who played a significant role in fostering Josephine's independence.
Career
Following the passing of her sister Catherine in 1874, Josephine married John C. Tychson, a farmer from Denmark. The couple welcomed their first child in 1878 and briefly resided in Denmark before relocating to Napa Valley. There, they acquired 147 acres north of St. Helena from sea captain William James Sayward and planted vineyards starting in 1881. Their winery, Tychson Cellars, was officially established in 1886.
After her husband died by suicide as a result of tuberculosis, Josephine took on the responsibility of managing the estate and raising their two children alone. By 1890, the vineyard was cultivating Zinfandel, Riesling, and Burgundy grape varieties across 65 acres, with 55 acres actively producing fruit. However, a phylloxera outbreak in 1893 affected approximately 10% of the harvest, which led her to sell the winery in 1894 to Nels Larson, the estate foreman. The property changed hands again in 1898 when Anton Forni purchased it and renamed it Lombarda Cellars after his Italian homeland.
Josephine never remarried and continued living opposite the vineyard until her death in 1939. Subsequently, the estate was sold to Charles Freeman, Mark Foster, and Abbey Ahern, who rebranded it as "Freemark Abbey." Her contributions are honored through the Napa County Historical Society’s “Harvesting History” exhibit that highlights early viticulture in Napa Valley.