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- Wilhelm "Columbus" Hieb
Dakota Datebook, North Dakota Public Radio, August 1, 2005.
People who grew up in the German Russian regions of the state likely knew at least one person who either moved to Lodi, California, or who had relatives there. This was the result of a quest by Wilhelm Adam Hieb, who became known as Columbus for encouraging others to join him there.
Hieb (heeb) was born in Neudorf, Russia in 1852 and came here with his young wife, Catharina, on the S.S. Hermann in 1874. They settled in Hutchinson County, Dakota Territory, near what is now Menno, South Dakota. Catharina died during their tenth year together.
After two decades on the prairie, Wilhelm missed the more temperate climate of south Russian, so he decided to find a place more similar to where he grew up. In 1895, he and two friends, Gottlieb Hieb (no relation) and Jacob Mettler, headed for California and toured the state by train.
Wilhelm liked Los Angeles and its orange groves, but he wanted to grow grapes. They headed north and finally found the perfect place: Lodi. Hieb went back to Dakota, sold his land, and became the first German Russian to move to Lodi.
With him were his second wife, Charlotta, and their eight children. In 1975, Hiebs youngest child, Pauline Walters, told the story to the Lodi News-Sentinel. Her father bought 30 acres a mile south of Lodi and planted some of it into Zinfandel and Mission grapes. The rest he put into pasture to raise cows to keep them afloat until the grapes were mature enough to produce.
It wasnt until a few years later that others began to join them. Polly said when other Dakotans began arriving, theyd always stay with the Hiebs. The town did have a hotel and a restaurant, she says, but this wasnt for the thrifty Dakotans. People came and went from our house, and this went on for years. Sometimes families would stay with us for two or three weeks until they could find a place.
It was about this time that Wilhelm became known as Columbus, as he enticed more and more of his former neighbors to migrate to Lodi. Even his mail came addressed to Columbus Hieb. He would meet Dakotans at the train depot and drive the men around until they found what they needed. Land was inexpensive about $25-35 an acre and the sandy soil was ideal.
Some people farmed, others worked in wineries or canneries. Nearly everyone prospered, and the migration increased. Back in Dakota, it became a sort of joke among German Russians to ensure their childrens survival they taught them three words in English: Papa, Mama and Lodi.
Polly remembered a day in the early 1900s when an entire train car of Dakotans arrived. This time there were so many, their home wasnt large enough to accommodate everybody. Her brother was sent on horseback to tell earlier migrants to come and get some of them. Meanwhile, she helped her mother prepare food for everybody. It didnt matter how many came, she said, we always had food. We learned how to manage on the spur of the moment.
Columbus Hieb's vineyard was one of the first commercial wineries in the Lodi region. After his grapes started producing, he shipped his wine in 50-gallon barrels to Hosmer, SD, where it was marketed. The initiator of the Lodi connection died on this date in 1929. He was 77.
Source: Hieb-Vogt, Bev (great-granddaughter). http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~davison/hiebgenfourcont.htm Mays, Myrtle
Columbus Hieb Began Migration to Lodi. Lodi News-Sentinel. 10 Jan 1975. Reprinted in Heritage Review Sep 1983: Vol 13 No 3: 20-21. Bismarck: Germans from Russia Heritage Society
Vossler, Ron (documentary script). Heaven Is Our Homeland: the Glueckstalers in New Russia and North America. Glckstal Colonies Research Association, 2004
Dakota Datebook is a project of North Dakota Public Radio, in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota, with funding from the North Dakota Humanities Council. Hosted by Merrill Piepkorn, written by Merry Helm, and produced by Bill Thomas.
North Dakota Public Radio is a service of Prairie Public Broadcasting in association with North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota.
65. Wilhelm Adam (Columbus) Hieb #23003, (18.Adam3, 5.Wilhelm2, 1.Johann1) b. 11 Jan 1852, Neudorf, Russia, d. 1 Aug 1929, Lodi, CA. The Wilhelm Hieb & wife Catharina on the SS Hermann arriving in Baltimore in 1874 are the Wilhelm Hieb called "Columbus" and his wife, Catharina Frey. They probably married in 1873 before leaving Russia - the marriage does not appear in GLK B&M because the 1872-1873 records are missing from the St. Pete.
WILHELM "COLUMBUS" HIEB - Wilhelm Adam Hieb, better known as "Columbus" Hieb, is credited with being one of the first Dakotans of German descent to settle in Lodi, CA. In 1895 he and 3 others (Gottlieb Hieb, Jacob Mettler, and Ludwick Derheim) traveled from Menno, South Dakota to scout for land in California. The men orginally looked in Southern California, but decided Lodi would be a good place to plant vineyards. They purchased land and returned to Menno.
On November 11, 1897, Columbus returned to Lodi with his second wife Charlotta and eight children. Once settled, he encouraged others in South Dakota to come to Lodi. He met the new arrivals at the train station and generously provided food and lodging at his 30-acre farm until they themselves were settled. In addition to pioneering the Dakota-to-Lodi migration, Columbus planted one of Lodi's first commercial vineyards and was founder of the Salem Reformed Church. Until the church could be built, services were held in Columbus' home.
It was determination, fortitude, and a pioneering spirit that earned Wilhelm Adam Hieb the well-deserved nickname of Columbus. Those who followed in his path knew him by that name...even his mail was addressed as such. He went by the name of Columbus until he passed away in Lodi, a town that embodies the spitit of those who, like Columbus, came for a better life. Submitted by great-granddaughter, Bev (Hieb) Vogt.
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1852 - 1929 (77 years)