Grayson County TXGenWeb

William Bell Munson
1873–1931

Will B. Munson, practical viticulturist and nurseryman, has for more than a quarter of a century carried forward the work established by his father in the city of Denison. The Munson Nurseries were established by T. V. Munson (1843 - 1913) in 1876, and in 1895 his son, Will B. Munson, assumed charge of the work, leaving his father free to continue his botanical research work. He had grown up in the business, and under his illustrious father acquired many advanced ideas as a nurseryman, and upon taking charge of the work he continued on the lines already established.

"Typical Vineyard Near Denison"
Robinson, Frank M., comp. Industrial Denison. [N.p.]: Means-MooreCo., 1901. Page 61.

From an acreage of forty-five acres, the plant has now grown until one hundred and sixty acres are intensively cultivated, and the stock has been constantly developed and improved until the Munson line of fruit trees, especially adapted to the climate of the Southwest, are in great demand.

The Dallas Morning News
Sunday, July 24, 1977

W.B. Munson III checks a grape breed developed by his great uncle.

TEXAS GRAPES
Century-old Vineyard Preserving History
by Kathleen Hast
Denison, Texas - Make no mistake about it. The grapes grown at the T.V. Munson Memorial Vineyard here are not the grapes we buy for --c a pound at the local supermarket.
And they are not made into the under 42c bottle "pop"..that make most wine...cringe.
The folks at Grayson County Junior College where the vineyard is located know all about the visitors and...although their preservation of the European grapes have a definite Texas...
And Thursday they decided it was time everyone else knew of their little venture.
Exactly 100 years ago Thomas Volney Munson moved to the Denison area and to quote a 1928 article on Munson found his "grape paradise."
He began cross breeding local grapes with European and North American grapes. All in all, he produced 300 varieties, although only 80 are...in his book, "...of the American Grapes."
Several years ago Munson's descendants formed the T.V. Munson Foundation, which supports the vineyard. Members of the foundation put up the chain-link fence that surrounds the greenhouse and vineyard, and plan to build a...at the location....
And while the visitors, mostly members of the press, nodded knowlingly, he discussed the "sprightly"....hybrid...most were looking for a place to get rid of the...after one...of the better grape.
But the "sprightly" tang of the Champutal is nothing when compared with the Mustang, the grape that saved the vineyards of France and earned Munson the Legion of Honor from that country in 1888.
In the mid 1800s France was plaqued with...insects which attacked and killed the roots of the vines.
Munson sent root cuttings from the almost indestructable Mustang vine, which when crossed with the French vines, resulted in heartier vineyards.
The Mustang, however, has a somewhat less than desireable flavor. Horace Porter, a 7?-year-old Denison man who once worked for Munson, decided to have a little fun with two visitors.
Offering each a deep purple Mustang grape, Porter encouraged them to bite into the skin, then laughed out loud as they gasped, spit, then slapped their hands over their mouths.
"That Mustang has more pucker power than anything you can name," said the victim when he recovered....

Since the death of the elder Mr. Munson, in 1913, Mr. Will Munson has carried on the work alone. Grape culture is still
given special attention, and it has been Mr. Munson's pleasure to witness the vast good that has come of his father's investigations as a viticulturist. The Munson Nurseries are located at 1607 [South] Merrick [Mirick] Avenue, Denison, Texas.

Left to Right: Daniel Munson (1815-1893), Eliphet Philbrook Munson (1817-1907), William Munson (1808-1890)
sons of Theodore Munson and Lydia Philbrook

Individuals named William Munson buried in Fairview Cemetery, Denison, Texas

MUNSON WILLIAM	2 AUG 1808 - 5 DEC 1890
MUNSON WILLIAM BELL	1873 - 1931
MUNSON WILLIAM BENJAMIN	7 JAN 1846 - 6 FEB 1930
MUNSON WILLIAM BENJAMIN JR	1 JAN 1886 - 25 FEB 1936
MUNSON WILLIAM BENJAMIN III	1915 - 1989
MUNSON WILLIAM KENT	29 MAY 1951 - 20 SEP 1999