Generations

The Heringer Family has been farming in the Clarksburg Delta for more than 140 years, and family winemaker Michael W. Heringer is the sixth generation of Heringer’s to farm in the Clarksburg area. Our ancestors emigrated from Holland and pioneered the farming of the upper delta, as the land and water characteristics were very similar to those in their homeland. The family started growing wine grapes back in the 1970's and has sold wine grapes through the decades to many of the great wineries in California. The family vineyards are now located at our Home Ranch on Netherlands Road in Clarksburg, on a 220 acre parcel of beautiful, sandy loam soil bordered on the east by Elk Slough, a tributary of the Sacramento River.
Please read more about the 6 generations of Heringer ranches in Clarksburg.

1. And In the Beginning (First Generation)
2. New Life In America (Second Generation)
3. Clarksburg Natives (Third Generation)
4. New Frontiers (Fourth Generation)
5. Sustaining the Farm (Fifth Generation)
6. Building Again For Future Generations (Sixth Generation)

And In the Beginning (First Generation)

• Original Dutch name Heringa was Americanized to Heringer in the late 1800's
• 1868 John (49 years old, born 1819) & Geertje Heringa with 4 children between 2-9 yrs saved $1100.00 to move to America
• 14 days by boat to Boston 3 days through NYC then around Panama & into San Fransico where fellow countrymen introduced them to Clarksburg
• $900 bought 30 acres & cows to farm and Dairy in Clarkburg
• 3 years and 3 floods later sold farm and moved to East Sacramento, and bought 160 acres for general farming
• John Heringer is Michael Heringer's (great)³ grandfather

John Heringa (First Generation) was born in 1819 in the province of Groningen, Holland. His grandmother and an uncle raised him after both of his parents died by the time he was 9 years old. He was bound to farm work at 12 years and then moved to live with an uncle who ran a dry goods store and manufactured woolen goods. At 21 years he joined the army and served 9 years after which he joined the police force in the town of Oppenhuezen. He met and married Geertje, a town native, in 1857. At the age of 49 with 4 children under 9 years old, having saved $1100, John and family started for America. They sailed from Liverpool and landed in Boston thence on to NYC arriving after a voyage of 14 days. Following a three- day layover, the family boarded a steamer to Panama, crossed the ismiss on land, then sailed for San Francisco, arriving 7 weeks after departing England. They immediately boarded a paddlewhealer for Sacramento arriving the next day to the welcome of a countryman and friend who sold them a 30-acre ranch for six hundred dollars. This ranch was located on Merritt Island, just below Clarksburg. They soon invested another three hundred dollars in cows and started a dairy farm. The family lived on Merritt Island for three years and sold the farm due to annual flooding of the Sacramento River. John moved his family to East Sacramento purchasing 160 acres and devoting their efforts to general farming on a ranch located near what is now Mather Air Base. John Heringa died in 1902 having been predeceased by his wife Geertje 4 years earlier in 1898. John was Michael W. Heringer's (great)³ grandfather.

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New Life In America (Second Generation)

• Joseph (1861) and Martha Heringer, Joseph 2nd son of 5 children born to John & Geertje
• Joseph was 7 years old on Journey to America
• 10 years old he moved to East Sacramento with parents on 160 acre parcel
• Joseph married Martha at the age of 24 and farmed in East Sacramento until returning to Clarksburg in 1901 at the age of 38.
• 1901 Joseph moved family back to Merritt island in Clarksburg, then purchased property in Lisbon just north of Clarksburg in 1906
• Joseph Heringer is Michael Heringer's (great)2 grandfathers

Joseph Heringer, (Second Generation) was the 2nd of five children born to John & Geertje in Holland. He was 7 years old when he sailed for America with his parents. He helped his dad on the Merritt Island dairy as a young boy and then as a teen on their new ranch in East Sacramento. Joseph married Martha at the age of 24 and farmed in East Sacramento until returning to Clarksburg in 1901 at the age of 38. He rented farm ground on Merritt Island until 1906 when he bought a farm in the Lisbon district just north of Clarksburg. There he farmed hay, grain, and some row crops until his death in 1912. Joseph was Michael W. Heringer's (great)2 grandfather. The name was Americanized in the late 1800's.
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Clarksburg Natives (Third Generation)

• Stephen (1889) & Mable Heringer & John (1885) & Alta Heringer, 2 sons born of Joseph & Martha
• Both graduated from Clarksburg Grammer School
• In there 20's they helped reclaim more of the Clarksburg area from tullies and swampland transforming it into productive farmland
• This farm grew steadily throughout the 20's to 1,250 acres; then grew dramatically in the 30's with the purchase of 2,250 acres in the adjacent Pierson district across the Sacramento River below Courtland.
• Beans, Asparagus, Tomatoes, Pears and Forage crops where some of the commodities farmed in this generation
• Stephen & John farmed together as Heringer Brothers until it was passed down to the next generation of Heringers
• Stephen Heringer is Michael Heringer's great grandfather

Stephen F. Heringer (Third Generation) was born 1889 and was the 2nd of two sons born to Joseph and Martha. Following graduation from Clarksburg Grammar School he farmed in the Lisbon district of the Delta with his father and brother John. Stephen married Mabel in 1912 and in 1916 he settled his family into Clarksburg, the Holland Reclamation District 999, which he had helped reclaim from tullies following the building of the Delta levees in 1913. This track of highly fertile soils formed the perfect base for the farming partnership of Heringer Brothers, which he and his brother John formed. This farm grew steadily throughout the 20's to 1,250 acres; then grew dramatically in the 30's with the purchase of 2,250 acres in the adjacent Pierson district across the Sacramento River below Courtland. The main crops were alfalfa, beans, corn, wheat, barley, sugar beats, tomatoes and pears. Stephen died in 1962; he was Michael W. Heringer's great grandfather.
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New Frontiers (Fourth Generation)

• Lester S. Heringer (Forth Generation) was born in 1918, the 4th of eight sons born to Stephen and Mabel.
• Frederick, Wilfred, Lester, James, Robert and Richard Heringer, 6 sons of Stephen & Mable Heringer who helped sustain and build on the Heringer tradition
• Donald, John Jr., George, Ned and Jenette Heringer, 4 sons & 1 daughter of John & Alta Heringer who helped sustain and build on the Heringer tradition
• Lester Heringer, Michael’s grandfather, and his 5 brothers and 5 cousins expanded the operation purchasing more land in the Delta and in Butte County
• Lester helped revolutionize tomato harvesting with the innovation and development of the mechanical tomato harvester in a cooperative agreement with the University of California at Davis and Blackwelder.
• The ranch also developed a feed mill pelletizing Alfalfa for sale to dairies in Petaluma and for export to Japan
• After a Buyout of two brothers and 5 cousins Lester and two of his brothers formed & farmed Heringer Ranches Inc. planting the family's first vineyards in the 1970's
• The main crops farmed in this generation where tomatoes, alfalfa, wine grapes, pears, peaches, prunes, corn, wheat, safflower, asparagus, and sugar beats
• Lester Heringer is Michael Heringer's grandfather

Lester S. Heringer (Forth Generation) was born in 1918, the 4th of eight sons born to Stephen and Mabel. He graduated from Clarksburg Elementary School and Clarksburg High School. He went on to UC Davis receiving a degree in Agronomy in 1941. Lester was a promising athlete who had lettered in both baseball and football at UCD and was drafted into the Chicago Cubs farm team in 1941 when WWII broke out. He enlisted in the Army Air Corp as an aviation cadet and rose to the rank of major before leaving the service at the culmination of the war in 1946 to rejoin the family farming operation in Clarksburg. Lester had married his childhood sweetheart Marjorie Utterback in 1943 and they subsequently had 7 children. Lester was very active in the management of the farming operation as he, 5 brothers and 5 cousins further expanded the operations by purchasing additional property in the Holland District and in Butte County, north of Marysville. He was instrumental in the mechanization of the California tomato industry with the funding and innovation of the blackwelder tomato harvester in the early 60's. He also formed a feed milling operation in the 60's and sold palletized alfalfa into Petaluma dairies and later commercial exporting into Japan. Lester and 2 of his brother's farmed Heringer Ranches Inc. and in the early 70's bought out two brothers and 5 cousins in the process. He and his brothers planted the family's first vineyards in the mid 70's. The main crops were tomatoes, alfalfa, wine grapes, pears, peaches, prunes, corn, wheat, safflower, asparagus, and sugar beats. Lester is Michael W. Heringer's grandfather.
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Sustaining the Farm (Fifth Generation)

• Stephen, Duke and Les Heringer Jr., 3 sons of Lester and Marjorie Heringer who helped sustain and build on the Heringer tradition
• Warren, Ralph, Curt, and Tom Heringer 2 sons of Bill Heringer And 2 sons of Jim Heringer who helped sustain and build on the Heringer tradition
• In the Mid-80's 2 of worst back-to-back weather years in California's history and bankruptcy of California Canners & growers economically devastated the family farming operation
• Stephen and Duke stayed with the operation after the sale of the ranch to provide management continuity for the new owners for 8 years
• The brothers exercised an option to repurchase the home ranch, which had been in the family for 4 generations, and another ranch that was formerly in the family's holdings
• Stephen and Duke have been fortunate enough to continue the families farming operations in an increasingly competitive agricultural world market
• They have developed 120 acres of premium wine grapes including varieties such as Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Barbera, Teroldego, Petite bordauex, Cabernet Franc, Tempranillo, Chardonnay, Viogner and Muscat Canelli as well as farming many acres of forage and grain crops
• With the increasing world pressure on California agriculture the brothers have vertically integrated and developed a small winery, thus Heringer Estates wines have been born
• Steve Heringer is Michael Heringer's father
  
  Stephen F. Heringer III (Fifth Generation) was born in 1947, the 1st son of 7 children born to Lester and Marjorie. He also went through the schooling system at Clarksburg and went on to graduate from Fresno State in Agricultural business. This is where he met his wife Donna Cornelius; they were married in 1969 and subsequently have 3 children. Just after college, Stephen was drafted into the Army in 1969 and was shipped overseas to fight in the Vietnam War. After returning from the war and doing Post Bachelors work at Fresno State he was employed for a short time with the Farm Credit Bank, which would prove invaluable in sustaining the family farm in the coming years. In 1973 Stephen rejoined the ranch and worked side by side with 2 brothers and 4 cousins. Duke E. Heringer, the fourth son born to Lester and Marjorie Heringer, returned to the family farming operation in 1971 following studies in Agronomy and Crop Science at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He carries a strong reputation in the community for his high energy level and his tireless efforts to improve the quality of the Heringer crop products. Duke has taken on the added responsibility of the marketing for Heringer Estates wines and has gained entry for the family wines in most of the top quality restaurants and wine shops in the Sacramento, Tahoe and North Coast Regions. In the early to mid 80's the farming operation was disintegrated by two of the worst back-to-back weather years in California history as well as the bankruptcy of California Canners & Growers, a large fruit and vegetable cooperative, of which Heringer Ranches was a major supplier. The unfortunate result was the unsustainability of all the family members involved at the time. Most had to leave the operation in order to sustain their families. When the four senior Heringers were required to sell the operation to payoff debts, brothers Duke and Stephen stayed with the operation to provide management continuity for the new owners. They continued in that management role for 8 years, at which time the brothers exercised an option to repurchase the home ranch of 220 acres and another 200-acre ranch formerly in the family holdings. The Heringer families are blessed beyond measure to be able to continue as stewards of the beautiful and productive home ranch now farmed for 4 generations. Stephen and Duke have sustained the farming operations in an increasingly competitive agricultural world market. They have developed 120 acres of premium wine grapes including varieties such as Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Barbera, Teroldego, Petite Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Tempranillo, Chardonnay, Viogner and Muscat Canelli as well as farming forage and grain crops. With the increasing world pressure on California agriculture the brothers decided to vertically integrate and become their own producer, thus Heringer Estates wines were born.
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Building Again For Future Generations (Sixth Generation)

• Stephen, Stacy, and Michael Heringer, 2 sons and one daughter of Stephen and Donna Heringer, all who helped sustain and build on the Heringer tradition in their youth
• Michael Heringer, the family winemaker, returned to the family operation full time in 2004
• Michael brings to the business a degree in Enology (science of winemaking) from Fresno State as well as an excruciating passion for the family sustainability and excellence in all enterprises
• He hopes to offer his two new sons, the seventh Heringer generation, the opportunity to be involved in the same rich history and time honored integrity that the family name has attained after so many years
  Michael W. Heringer was born in 1979 and is the third child of Stephen and Donna Heringer. Michael is the (great)3 grandson of the first Heringer to settle and farm in Clarksburg over 140 years ago. He is married to Estela Heringer and they have 2 boys, Christian and Daniel Heringer (the seventh Heringer generation). Growing up and working on the ranch just as his father and his grandfathers have done generations before him, Michael gained a respect and love for the family tradition of being stewards of the land. Michael's love for his family and the life they chose is what eventually led him to obtaining an Enology degree at Fresno State University. He chose this field in order to help sustain and build upon the history and traditions of the Heringer name continuing to provide quality, value and Integrity in all enterprises. A love and passion for winemaking has made this all possible.
  
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