REBECCA YERGER
From the pages of Napa Countyâs history books jump stories about unbelievable but true crimes. These malevolent acts were carried out by some of the most unsavory of characters include the Civil War-era home invader, Prohibition boot-leggers and a saloon-smashing dentist.
During the early 1860s âBlack Jackâ Bowen led a predacious pack of outlaws who terrorized the region. Bowen and he gang invaded the Napa area home of John Patchett, owner of Napa Valleyâs first commercial winery. As part of this home invasion, Bowen drugged Patchett prior to ransacking and burglarizing his residence. They left that Fuller Park area home with many of Patchettâs most cherished and prized possessions. But they were not finished with Napans.