The Stone Barn and the Local History of Winemaking

Deukmejian Wilderness Park near the top of New York Avenue, besides having miles of hiking trails, is a treasure trove of local history. It’s located in Dunsmore Canyon, a deep ravine in the San Gabriel Mountains. The centerpiece of the park is the Le Mesnager Stone Barn, a magnificent two-story building made of native stone that is over 100 years old. And in front of the stone barn is a big vineyard, a nod to the Crescenta Valley’s grape-growing past. Here’s a brief history.

George Le Mesnager was a Frenchman living in Los Angeles in the late 1800s. In 1885, he and a partner purchased hundreds of acres in the Crescenta Valley, some in the Verdugo Canyon where the Oakmont Golf Course is today and some in Dunsmore Canyon. They planted thousands of grapevines. At that time the wine industry was booming in Los Angeles and Le Mesnager had a big winery north of the downtown area, next to the Los Angeles River. The grapes from the Le Mesnager vineyard in the Crescenta Valley were harvested and brought by wagon to the winery. George Le Mesnager, despite being a leader in the robust French community that existed in LA at that time, had a hard time staying out of trouble. His winery was raided by the law on a couple of occasions and he was in civil court for various lawsuits.

Around 1910, George Le Mesnager’s son Louis began building the stone barn. It was used for storage and livestock on the ground floor, and as living quarters on a second floor mezzanine. At the outbreak of WWI, George went back to France to fight for his native country. He was 64 years old and overweight, but he enlisted as a private. He fought valiantly and finished the war with several battle wounds and medals for valor.

Prohibition was enacted in 1920, forbidding the production and consumption of alcohol except for home winemaking. Commercial wineries closed but grape growing for home winemaking boomed. The Le Mesnager vineyards and other local vineyards thrived throughout the Prohibition era.

In 1933 the stone barn was leased to a group of WWI veterans hoping to make a killing in wine sales when Prohibition ended in December of that year. Sadly in November a wildfire burned the barn and the vats of nearly ready wine. The vats burst and 25,000 gallons of wine poured out the front door of the barn.

Since the barn was stone only the roof needed to be replaced and the Le Mesnager family continued to live on the mezzanine in the barn. In the late ’50s, the family decided to move on. They offered the land first to Glendale and the state, both of which turned it down. Instead it was sold in 1960 to a developer who intended to build hundreds of hillside homes.

After a long grass roots battle against development by local residents, Glendale purchased the land. Some of the money came from then-California Gov. George Deukmejian, who was honored as the namesake of the new park. The stone barn was upgraded and turned into a nature center. A demonstration vineyard was planted with Red Flame, Alicante Bouchet, and Early Burgundy grapevines. Management of the vines was ceded to The Stone Barn Vineyard Conservancy. 

The Conservancy has enlarged the vineyard with grapes that are historic to our area. Three varieties are newly represented: Mission, Burger and Zinfandel. Mission grapes were brought to America from Spain in the 16^th century and spread to the California Missions in the late 1700s. The Burger grapes have an interesting story. The descendants of the Le Mesnagers said George Le Mesnager planted high up in the canyon his favorite grapes he brought from France, but those vines are gone now. But after the Station Fire of 2009, a hiker near the top of the canyon noticed a grapevine growing up through the ashes. This survivor was from the legendary early Le Mesnager favorite vines for indeed Burger is a French grape. The Zinfandel vines were taken from a vine growing wild near Foothill Boulevard. It is a remnant of the vineyards that once covered our valley.