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EAST TEXAS
SAVIOR OF
THE FRENCH
WINE INDUSTRY
Dr. Thomas
Volney Munson
by Archie
P. McDonald |
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Those
who favor a glass of wine, especially French wine, may not be aware
of the debt they and the French owe to Dr. Thomas Volney Munson of
Denison,
Texas.
Munson was born in Astoria, Illinois, in 1843. Even as a child he
demonstrated an interest in growing things; eventually, he focused
on grapes, which he called “the most beautiful, most wholesome and
nutritious, most certain and profitable fruit that can be grown.”
Munson studied agriculture at the University of Kentucky, and after
marrying Ellen Scott Bell in 1870, worked in her family’s nursery
business until moving his family to Lincoln, Nebraska, to begin a
horticultural practice. There he observed that cultured grapes had
difficulty surviving harsh winters, pests, and diseases, but that
native plants thrived despite these problems. Denison, Texas, offered
Munson better climate for growing grapes, so he moved there in 1876.
He traveled extensively collecting rootstock and eventually had over
300 varieties growing in his vineyard. Munson also continued formal
study of agriculture, and earned a master of science degree from the
State Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky.
Munson’s stature as a horticulturist increased following exhibitions
of his work in professional shows, including the Colombian Exposition
in Chicago in 1893. And his reputation reached Europe, where as much
as eighty percent of the vineyards suffered from the fungus parasite
odium. First the French imported labrusca rootstock from the
United States, but that only introduced another problem, phylloxera,
a plant louse.
Then the French vintners turned to Munson, whose work had produced
a rootstock resistant to phylloxera to which they could graft
different varieties of grapes to produce a variety of wines. Glory,
it worked.
Sometimes the French and the Americans are close friends and sometimes
not, but they surely loved Munson. The French Government sent a delegation
to Denison to award him the French Legion of Honor Chevalier de
Merite Agricole, and he became a member of the Societe d’Agriculture
de France and an honorary member of the Societe des Viticulteurs
de France.
If you enjoy French wine, how about a toast to Thomas Volney Munson,
the transplanted Texan whose transplanting saved France. |
© Archie P. McDonald
All
Things Historical
June 5, 2006 column
A syndicated column in over 40 East Texas newspapers
(This column is provided as a public service by the East Texas Historical
Association. Archie P. McDonald is director of the Association and
author of more than 20 books on Texas.) |
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