07/12/2021
Red Rock Past
Photo courtesy of the Sedona Heritage Museum #2010.25.12
Wine-making in the Sedona area dates to at least 1884, if not earlier. Heinrich "Henry" Schuerman took title to land along Oak Creek in payment for a debt. After marrying Dorette in 1884, the couple moved to the land from Prescott. They planted orchards and vineyards.
The Schuermans were prominent contributors to their new community. They built the first school in the area in 1891, and established the first cemetery in 1893. Henry served as a Yavapai County Justice of the Peace, served on the local school board, worked building local roads, and the family home was an informal postal drop. Schuerman produce was sold across Arizona. Grapes from their extensive vineyards were made into wine and sold to Jerome miners and local cowboys. Theirs was the first commercial winery in Arizona.
When Prohibition came to Arizona, Hnery Schuerman was sentenced to jail for selling his wine, but was eventually pardoned by the governor.
When the Schuermans decided to add to their land holdings, they filed a claim on property adjoining their existing ranch and built this homestead house. After the Schuermans took patent to their homestead in 1913, they moved back to the big house on their first property.
Daughter Frieda and her husband Myron Loy moved permanently into the house about 1928 and raised their family here.
