WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Naegle Winery
Toquerville, Utah

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LOCATION

South Toquer Blvd. (Main and 5th Streets) (at the south end of Toquerville)
Spring Street (State Route 5)
Toquerville, UT

37°14'55"N 113°17'48"W

HISTORY

Built about 1868 by John C. Naegle who was sent down to Washington County by Brigham Young to improve the quality of the wine produced there.

The upper floors were used as a polygamous residence while the basement had a wine cellar and distillery.

Put on the National Register of Historic Places (#1980003990) on February 20, 1980.

Owners:
John Nebeker, Probate Judge to John C. Naegle (6/20/1872)
Estate of John C. Naegle to Mary Louise Naegle (9/5/1935)
Susan V. Naegle to Archie P. Spilsbury (11/30/1936)
Spilsbury Land and Livestock Company (1956)

Commentary by Mary Phoenix:
John C. Naegle, a native of Bavaria, was a member of the Mormon Battalion. He was among the number who stopped off in California to earn a little money before he returned home and he was at Sutter's Fort when gold was discovered. As a faithful member of his church he obeyed the teachings of his leaders and returned to Utah.
Brigham Young had always before him the aim of self sufficiency for his people. He had learned that the soil and climate of Toquerville was ideal for the cultivation of fruit, particularly grapes and peaches. When he found that Naegle was a trained wine-maker he issued a call for him to go to Toquerville and establish a wine-making industry. It was Young's intentions to supply the church with sacramental wine and have a cash crop to sell to those passing through on their way to California.
In 1886 Naegle erected this large substantial building that has endured to the present time through years of neglect and indifference. The family had, a luxury for the time, living quarters on the top floor and the lower level was devoted to the manufacture of wine from grapes and brandy from peaches. Mr. Naegle secured distilling equipment from California and soon the building was filled with five hundred gallon barrels for storage and aging his products and the forty gallon tuns he used to ship it in. Perhaps the proudest feature of the building was its size. Naegle often boasted that a wagon and team could drive in, unload, and then turn around and drive out. His product, NAIL'S Best, was considered the premium wine of the territory.
When the L.D.S. Church ceased to use wine and withdrew its permit, Mr. Naegle left Toquerville to pursue other interests and the house fell on hard times. It was used briefly as a fig cannery and a peach defuzzing plant. For years it served as storage for Spilsbury Land and Cattle Company.
Now the property of Annaley Redd, a Naegle descendant, it has been lovingly renovated and restored and is on the National Historic Registry of Homes.

PHOTOS

August 1968 photo by P. Kent Fairbanks

WCHS photos:
WCHS-00552     Jon Bowcutt sketch of the Naegle Home (Toquerville Winery)

Other photos on the web:
August 1968 photo of the south side of the Naegle winery
August 1968 photo of the front (east side) of the Naegle winery
August 1968 photo the north and west sides of the Naegle winery
August 1968 photo of the north side of the Naegle winery
Photo of the Toquerville winery

REFERENCES

Historical Buildings of Washington County (Volume 1), pp. 26-27.

Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey, Naegle Winery
Call Number: HABS UTAH,27-TOQVI,1-
Survey number HABS UT-65