Nilmeier, Conrad

Conrad Nilmeier was born near Saratov on the Volga River in Russia on September 7, 1877, to parents Philip Nilmeier and Mary Folmer. In 1887, he immigrated to California with his parents as part of the first group of seven Russian families to settle in Fresno County. He spent his youth working various jobs, including delivering goods, working on the Southern Pacific railway, and helping run his father West Side Livery and Feed Stables in Fresno.

By 1906, Conrad purchased 160 acres in the De Wolf district near Fresno, which he developed into a highly productive ranch with vine and fruit plantings. He married Emma Schwab on November 20, 1900, with whom he had seven children before her death in 1908, later marrying her sister Annie Schwab and fathering two more children. A dedicated member of the German Lutheran Church in Fresno, he became a successful raisin grower, developed a unique grape curing process, and helped organize the California Raisin Association.