Formerly: E. Baxter & Sons / Golden Hills Vineyards · Baxter Brothers
Nauvoo, Illinois · Founded 1857 · Building: 1863 (historic Wasserzierher wine cellar; acquired by the Baxters in 1880)
A fifth-generation Nauvoo vineyard whose Baxter family lineage began in 1857 and grew into a winery centered on an 1863 wine cellar.
Baxter's Vineyards & Winery traces its family vineyard history to 1857, when Emile and Annette Baxter returned to Nauvoo after the Icarian colony's breakup and planted grape cuttings near town. The family acquired the historic Wasserzierher wine cellar in 1880, added a press room in 1882, and established its winery in 1885. The business remains family-operated in Nauvoo under the Logan branch of the Baxter family.
Emile Baxter came to Nauvoo to join the Icarian commune.
Source: Baxter's Vineyards & Winery, Baxter's Vineyards History, accessed September 1, 2026
After the Icarian colony broke apart, Emile and Annette Baxter briefly returned east, then came back to Nauvoo, bought eight acres near the business district, and planted grape cuttings.
Source: Baxter's Vineyards & Winery, Baxter's Vineyards History, accessed September 1, 2026
The family vineyard and wine business, then identified as E. Baxter & Sons and Golden Hills Vineyards, began receiving Illinois State Board of Agriculture medals for its wines.
Source: Baxter's Vineyards & Winery, Baxter's Vineyards History, accessed September 1, 2026
The Baxter family bought the Wasserzierher Wine Cellar on East Parley Street. The cellar had been built in 1863 and measured 74 feet by 22 feet, according to the winery's historical account.
Source: Baxter's Vineyards & Winery, Baxter's Vineyards History, accessed September 1, 2026
A press room was added to the historic cellar.
Source: Baxter's Vineyards & Winery, Baxter's Vineyards History, accessed September 1, 2026
The winery was established at the cellar site, according to the winery's detailed historical account.
Source: Baxter's Vineyards & Winery, Baxter's Vineyards History, accessed September 1, 2026
After Emile Baxter's death, his sons continued the business as Baxter Brothers.
Source: Baxter's Vineyards & Winery, Baxter's Vineyards History, accessed September 1, 2026
During national Prohibition, the family stopped wine-making, continued vineyard work, and sold grapes; its historical account says wine-making resumed after repeal.
Source: Baxter's Vineyards & Winery, Baxter's Vineyards History, accessed September 1, 2026
Kelly Logan, grandson of Fred K. Baxter, and his wife Brenda took over the family business and renamed it Baxter's Vineyards.
Source: Baxter's Vineyards & Winery, Baxter's Vineyards History, accessed September 1, 2026
Baxter's Vineyards & Winery continues operating in Nauvoo with a tasting room, gift shop, winery tour, patio, and bar offerings.
Source: Enjoy Illinois, Baxter's Vineyard and Winery; Baxter's Vineyards & Winery official website, accessed September 1, 2026
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Baxter's detailed historical account says Emile came to Nauvoo in 1855 to join the Icarian commune and that he and Annette planted grape cuttings after returning to Nauvoo following the colony's 1857 breakup. The lineage is coherent and consistently presented by the business, but the claimed Icarian archives and county deed records were not independently reviewed for this entry.
The winery's detailed history says the Wasserzierher Wine Cellar was built in 1863 and purchased by the Baxter family in 1880, followed by a press-room addition in 1882 and winery establishment in 1885. The chronology should be verified against deeds, architectural records, or local historical documentation before it is upgraded to documented.
Enjoy Illinois and the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance describe Baxter's as Illinois's oldest winery or oldest operating winery and give 1857 as its establishment date. However, the winery's own detailed history distinguishes the 1857 vineyard from the 1885 winery and says wine-making stopped during Prohibition before resuming after repeal. The broad oldest-operating-winery title is credible but the exact measure of continuity and the statewide comparison remain unresolved.
The business's own history says the family stopped wine-making during Prohibition, sold grapes while maintaining the vineyards, and resumed wine-making after repeal. That is a real interruption in wine production, even if the family maintained agricultural activity and later resumed the business.
Illinois tourism identifies Kelly and Brenda Logan as fifth-generation co-owners, Great River Road Illinois says the business is owned and operated by the fifth generation, and a 2025 Illinois wine-industry letter lists Kelly, Brenda, and Kimberly Logan as contacts or owners for Baxter's.
Baxter's winery building dates to 1857.
The 1857 date refers to the Baxter family's founding-era vineyard plantings. Baxter's own history says the family acquired the historic Wasserzierher Wine Cellar in 1880; the cellar was built in 1863, and the winery was established there in 1885.
Source: Baxter's Vineyards & Winery, Baxter's Vineyards History, accessed September 1, 2026
Baxter's has made wine continuously since 1857.
The family maintained its vineyards and sold grapes during Prohibition, but Baxter's detailed history says wine-making stopped and resumed after repeal. Agricultural continuity is not the same as uninterrupted winery production.
Source: Baxter's Vineyards & Winery, Baxter's Vineyards History, accessed September 1, 2026
Golden Eagle Winery was the original name of Baxter's Vineyards.
The reviewed Baxter history identifies the early family enterprise as E. Baxter & Sons, proprietors of Golden Hills Vineyards, and later as Baxter Brothers. It does not establish Golden Eagle Winery as a former name of the Nauvoo business.
Source: Baxter's Vineyards & Winery, Baxter's Vineyards History, accessed September 1, 2026
Baxter's survived because each generation adapted the business to the realities of farming, regulation, and changing local demand. The Baxters began with grape cuttings and a small family vineyard, acquired an existing cellar as Nauvoo's wine industry grew, and later continued grape cultivation during Prohibition even though winemaking stopped. Kelly and Brenda Logan took over in 1987, renamed the business Baxter's Vineyards, and carried its heritage forward through wine sales, tasting, retail, and adjacent hospitality.
Emile and Annette Baxter began planting grape cuttings near Nauvoo in 1857 after their experience with the Icarian commune. Their family later acquired the 1863 Wasserzierher Wine Cellar in 1880, added a press room in 1882, and established a winery there in 1885. The family stopped winemaking during Prohibition but kept its vineyards active, resumed wine production after repeal, and continues today under the Logan branch of the Baxter family.
Baxter's is widely recognized by Illinois tourism and the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance as Illinois's oldest winery or oldest operating winery, with a founding-era vineyard date of 1857. The history is more complicated than an uninterrupted 1857 winery claim: Baxter's own account places the winery itself in 1885 and says winemaking stopped during Prohibition before resuming after repeal. The statewide title is credible but remains unresolved in this register pending a direct comparison with other Illinois claimants.
No. The 1857 date refers to the Baxter family's founding-era vineyard plantings near Nauvoo. Baxter's history says the family bought the historic Wasserzierher Wine Cellar in 1880; that cellar had been built in 1863, and the winery was established there in 1885.
Baxter's own history says the family stopped winemaking during Prohibition, continued to cultivate vineyards, and sold grapes before resuming winemaking after repeal. The family therefore maintained an agricultural presence, but the historical account does not support a literal claim of uninterrupted commercial wine production.
Illinois tourism materials identify Kelly and Brenda Logan as fifth-generation co-owners of Baxter's Vineyards & Winery. A 2025 Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance letter lists Kelly, Brenda, and Kimberly Logan as owner or contact names for the Nauvoo winery. The precise legal ownership shares were not reviewed for this entry.
2010 E Parley St, Nauvoo, IL 62354
(217) 453-2528
Baxter's publishes separate hours for its wine-tasting and gift-shop operation and the adjacent Wine Barrel bar; confirm the relevant schedule before traveling.