Houppert Winery

Grape growing began in Lawton in 1868 when A. B. Jones planted 100 vines. By 1900 many eastern Van Buren County farmers converted their land to vineyards. In 1903 the Lawton Vineyard Company built a winery on this site, which William C. Houppert purchased in 1933. The region’s grape production peaked in 1939. During the harvest the Houppert Winery took in 200 to 400 tons of grapes daily. On June 7, 1940, Houppert’s prosperity ended when fire destroyed the complex. Houppert rebuilt the winery, but he never recovered financially. In 1943 he sold the property to the predecessor of the Warner Vineyards of Paw Paw, which operated the winery through the 1970s. In 1990 the Lawton Lions Club purchased the winery and rehabilitated it as a community center and museum.