Yosemite: California's First State Park

A visit to Yosemite National Park, located on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, can inspire a feeling of connection to nature and a sense of awe. Beautiful landscapes exist throughout California, but Yosemite Valley is unique, with its ideal location, granite peaks, and breath-taking waterfalls.

These natural wonders inspired many to push for the unprecedented protection and preservation of Yosemite by the government. In 1864, the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees would come to be known as California’s first state park, one of the first such parks in the country. These areas would remain in state custody for more than 40 years, even while surrounding lands came under federal protection.

This exhibit focuses on the time period during which Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove were under the stewardship of the state of California. Included are original maps, correspondence, photographs, and other documents preserved at the California State Archives, which tell the story of the early management of Yosemite.

Yosemite Valley was first inhabited by ancestors of the Southern and Central Miwok tribes, beginning about 3,000 years ago. They regularly migrated to the valley in spring and summer, and a small group of Southern Sierra Miwoks made it their permanent home during the late 1700s. The valley was known to them as Ahwahnee, meaning “mouth,” and they called themselves the Ahwahneechees. They established several villages within the valley.

An 1833 expedition to observe and map the California wilderness made its way through lands bordering Yosemite Valley. Zenas Leonard, diarist for the expedition, wrote of looking down into a great valley, but they decided not to descend. Leonard also noted that they had passed by some “incredibly large” redwood trees, likely the giant sequoias within what are now the Tuolumne or Merced Groves.

In 1849, friends William Penn Abrams and U. N. Reamer, visitors at a local trading post, stumbled upon Yosemite Valley while hunting a grizzly bear. Abrams wrote that they came upon a “trail that led past a valley enclosed by stupendous cliffs rising perhaps 3000 feet from their base and which gave us cause for wonder.” It’s likely that they were viewing the valley from Old Inspiration Point.

The trading post from which Abrams and Reamer had wandered off, located at the south fork of the Merced River, was owned by James D. Savage, a miner who had come to California in 1846. He opened several trading posts in the Mariposa region in 1849, serving both the native Californian population and newcomers eager to strike it rich in the California Gold Rush.

According to accounts by Savage and others, it was this trading post just outside of Yosemite that was attacked by a group of Ahwahneechees in May 1850. The severity of the attack, the number of individuals involved, and the cause is unclear. However, locals living in Mariposa County were alarmed. They appealed to the Governor of California (which had just achieved statehood in September 1850) to authorize the creation of a volunteer militia. Governor John McDougal responded with this letter to the Sheriff of Mariposa County indicating his approval, and the Mariposa Battalion was mustered on January 24, 1851. John Savage was commissioned as Major in charge.

U.S. Indian Commissioners and Savage first attempted to negotiate a treaty with the Ahwahneechees that would move them from their villages to a reservation. Tenaya, leader of the Ahwahneechees, visited Savage’s camp to say that they would accept the treaty, and that the rest of the tribe would be arriving shortly for removal to the reservation. When the rest of the tribe had not arrived for several days, Savage led an expedition to the valley to find them. Along the trail they encountered about 70 women and children from the tribe, making their way toward the camp. Suspicious at the lack of young men in the group, Savage’s party continued on into the valley.

At this point, Savage and his men had not associated the valley in which the Ahwahneechees were living with the awe-inspiring valley described in early expedition accounts. When Savage’s party came upon Old Inspiration Point on March 27, 1851, they were surprised by what they found. Dr. Lafayette H. Bunnell, surgeon for Savage’s party, wrote of the valley: "None but those who have visited this most wonderful valley, can even imagine the feelings with which I looked upon the view that was there presented…as I looked, a peculiar exalted sensation seemed to fill my whole being, and I found my eyes in tears with emotion."

It is thought that Bunnell was the first to use the name Yosemite for the valley, erroneously believing that to be the name of the tribe living there. Savage’s party searched the valley, going so far as Mirror Lake, but left without finding the young men of the tribe. While they were searching, the women and children had escaped from the camp with Tenaya, and later returned to the valley.

Just two months later, a company of the Mariposa Battalion returned to the valley, with the goal of removing the Ahwahneechees. Tenaya was eventually captured, along with the rest of the tribe, at what is now known as Tenaya Lake (known to the Ahwahneechees as Py-we-ack, or “lake of the shining rocks”). The tribe was sent to live on a reservation.

Tenaya repeatedly requested that he and his people be allowed to return to Yosemite Valley. Several months later the request was granted by the state, and a small group returned to the valley that they knew as home.

In 1855, prominent San Francisco magazine publisher James M. Hutchings took notice of Yosemite Valley after reading a newspaper article describing one of its waterfalls. He decided to organize the first tourist party to the valley. Hutchings was thrilled by what he found when they arrived. He could hardly wait to share his “discovery” with the world, so he soon published the copious notes that he had taken, as well as sketches that artist Thomas A. Ayres had made of the valley, in his California Magazine.

These reports were copied and republished throughout the United States. Hutchings returned to the valley several times, bringing along photographer C. L. Weed on one trip, leading to the first published photograph of Yosemite in 1859. Sketches, photographs, and personal accounts of Yosemite quickly became popular on the east coast. In California, companies began submitting trademark applications depicting Yosemite imagery, such as those pictured here. Within the span of about eight years, Yosemite was on its way to becoming a national cultural icon.

The arrival of tourists to Yosemite Valley attracted entrepreneurs who sought to provide amenities to those tourists. James Hutchings and James C. Lamon were among the first to claim land within the valley, upon which they built permanent residences for their families and lodging for visitors. Galen Clark built a hotel at the Wawona site, known as Clark’s Station, as the nearby grove of giant sequoias had become a popular destination for travelers on their way to the valley. Others developed toll roads, planted orchards, and fenced off land for grazing animals.

Although services for Yosemite tourists were growing, conditions were still rough for those who set out upon the long and difficult journey on horseback to the valley, as depicted in this Harper’s Weekly sketch. James Hutchings collected information on all visitors to the valley, and reported that between 1855 and 1864 there were 653 individuals who were willing to endure the trek in order to experience the beauty that most could only read about in magazines and newspapers.

To ease the journey to Yosemite Valley, citizens of Mariposa County sent this petition to the state legislature in 1857 requesting that a wagon road be constructed, which they eventually approved.

Along with a growing appreciation for the natural wonders that California had to offer was an increasing concern over the potential exploitation of the land. In 1854, two businessmen had stripped the bark off a giant sequoia, known as the “Mother of the Forest,” in the nearby Calaveras Grove of Big Trees, as depicted in this Harper’s Weekly sketch. They displayed it on tour across the east coast and Europe. It served to demonstrate to disbelieving audiences just how large these trees really were, but also sparked outrage over what was considered vandalizing nature.

Concerned individuals across the country began considering ways to protect wilderness lands, including Yosemite. Prominent businessman Israel W. Raymond wrote a letter to U.S. Senator John Conness in February 1864, urging him to present a bill to Congress that would preserve Yosemite and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove. Conness agreed, and Senate Bill 203 was introduced in Congress on March 28, 1864.

To convince fellow lawmakers to pass the bill, Conness emphasized that the land had little economic value outside of tourism. He assured Congress that the bill would cost them nothing, an important selling point, as they were in the third year of an expensive Civil War. Public sentiment was also working in Conness’ favor; as a relatively young nation, Americans felt a need to prove that their country had something special to offer the world. Many were beginning to see places such as Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove as symbols of national pride.

The bill to protect Yosemite was passed on June 30, 1864, and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on that same day. Known as the Yosemite Valley Grant Act, the new law stated that the land “shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation” and that this “shall be inalienable for all time.” It covered over 36,000 acres in and around Yosemite Valley, and an additional 2,500 acres for the Mariposa Grove. The lands would be managed by the Governor of California, who would appoint eight unsalaried commissioners to oversee it.

On September 28, 1864, Governor Frederick F. Low signed this proclamation accepting the federal grant ceding the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove of Big Trees to the state. In his proclamation, he also named the first commissioners: Frederick Law Olmsted (Chairman), considered the father of landscape architecture and later the designer of Central Park in New York City; Josiah D. Whitney, State Geologist; Israel W. Raymond, the businessman who had initially written to Senator Conness; William Ashburner; E. S. Holden; Alexander Deering; George W. Coulter; and Galen Clark.

On April 2, 1866 the California state legislature met to officially approve an act (Assembly Bill 497) accepting the grant from the federal government. Thus, Yosemite became one of the first state parks in the country.

The Board of Yosemite Commissioners selected member Galen Clark to act as the first guardian of the grant in May 1866. His duties included patrolling the valley, driving off squatters, preventing destruction of the land and trees, and serving as liaison between the Commission and valley residents.

Other early work approved by the Commission included a survey of the park by the Geological Survey of California, to create detailed plats and maps. To the left is an excerpt of a letter from the U.S. Surveyor General outlining instructions for conducting the survey. To the right is a response from Frederick Law Olmsted to Governor Low, indicating that survey work had recently begun.

The Commission also requested that Olmsted prepare a report to the state legislature with recommendations for management and implementation of the grant. Olmsted’s report included many of the philosophical arguments that would later form the basis of the state and national park systems, urging the state to preserve natural scenery as much as possible for future generations. He wrote that the government had an obligation to set aside land for free use by all citizens, even those of modest means. In support of this, he recommended that free cabins and campgrounds be built, as well as better roads to and within the valley.

Although the Commission did not implement all of Olmsted’s recommendations, they did agree that improvement of roads, bridges, trails, and hotels was a high priority. Since the Commission had been given very little money with which to carry out these goals, they contracted out the building of roads and trails to private companies, allowing them to charge tolls to recoup costs. The Commission hoped that once they had secured enough funding, they could buy out these roads from the private companies and eliminate the tolls.

In June 1874, the Coulterville Road opened to the public, allowing wagons to travel to the valley for the first time. No longer would parkgoers need to descend into the valley on horseback, allowing for a faster and safer journey. Stagecoach rides between Wawona and the valley quickly became popular attractions in themselves. Drivers with the skill to spin tall tales about the Yosemite wilderness, while gently delivering tourists across the bumpy roads, became highly respected and often requested.

Almost immediately after Yosemite Valley had been granted to the state, new services designed to cater to tourists began arriving in the valley. Private individuals opened stores, bakeries, photography studios, stables, pastures, butcher shops, laundries, saloons, and a number of other businesses. A bank, church, and schoolhouse opened soon after, to serve the families of these early entrepreneurs. Several campgrounds and hotels, such as the Stoneman House and Sentinel Hotel (pictured), opened their doors as well.

To ensure passage of the Yosemite Valley Grant Act, Congress had been assured that there were no claims to the land in Yosemite Valley. However, early residents Hutchings and Lamon were still occupying the valley, as well as a handful of newcomers. This raised several issues for the Commission, as they felt that allowing private interests to own Yosemite Valley would be going against the spirit of the grant.

In an effort to compromise with residents, the act included a provision for selling renewable 10-year leases to any private interests who were willing to improve the lands they settled. Leases were offered to Hutchings and Lamon, but they did not accept, as indicated in this letter from their attorney. They felt that since they had claimed the land prior to its ownership by the state, it was theirs to keep outright. They appealed to the California legislature in 1868, who passed a bill in agreeance.

Before taking effect, the new legislation would need to be ratified by Congress. It did not pass, and Hutchings’ and Lamon’s original claim to the land was called into question; federal law stated that individuals being the first to settle mapped lands could claim ownership of that land, but Yosemite had not yet been mapped when Hutchings and Lamon set up their residences.

Feeling he had no other recourse, Hutchings took the dispute to the courts. A district court ruled in his favor, but in the case pictured on the right, the California Supreme Court overturned the ruling in 1871. Hutchings appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, who denied his appeal in 1873. The ruling represented a major win for the Commission, and for the concept of state and national parks as we know them today. It established these parks as places free from private ownership, ensuring that the land remained open and available for the public to enjoy.

The 10-year lease system provided for in the Act was quickly becoming problematic. Because it was not guaranteed that leases would be renewed, business owners faced uncertainty about their economic future in the park. They had little incentive to spend money improving their buildings or services, as this letter from John Folsom demonstrates. After just a few years, many hotels and campgrounds had fallen into disrepair.

Furthermore, because the Commission had the final say on which leases would be approved, they were left open to charges of favoritism and corruption. The Commission, in an effort to earn the much-needed funds that they had not received from the legislature, felt that it was important to bring as many tourists to the park as possible. This led to many of the rules for concessionaires being overlooked.

It seemed to many that the Commission’s focus had shifted from the primary purpose of the grant, preservation of the land. John Muir took the lead in arguing that something needed to change. He had visited Yosemite in 1869, deciding then to make it his permanent home. He developed a strong sense that preservation of places like Yosemite was crucial for the spiritual well-being of all people. In February 1876, he wrote an article in the Sacramento Record Union criticizing the Commission and appealing to the American public to support the expansion of the Yosemite park to include the surrounding high country.

Such cries for action began to have an effect, with public sentiment turning against the Yosemite Commission. In 1880, the state legislature decided to dissolve the membership of the original board and appoint a new one, now subject to four-year term limits. James Hutchings was declared the new park guardian.

Although the new Commission desired to focus on addressing preservation concerns, it was not long before they began to face the same issues that had plagued the previous Commission. The lease system continued to provoke charges of corruption, and infrastructure was not advancing as quickly as visitors would have hoped.

State Engineer William Hammond Hall authored a report in 1881 that outlined several recommendations for improving the park, such as the building of additional roads and foot paths, regulating use of the valley floor to prevent overgrazing, and removing exotic plants. He also emphasized the necessity of protecting the high-country waterways that fed into the valley, as they were the source of the waterfalls that had become such an integral feature of the park. Several of the Commission’s reports throughout the 1880s supported this recommendation.

Tensions between the Commission and the general public continued to rise. The San Francisco Daily Examiner published a series of articles in the summer of 1888, accusing the commissioners of mismanagement in their duty to preserve Yosemite. The Commission spoke out against the “shameful and shameless attacks” in this excerpt from their 1889-1890 annual report.

Based on the allegations made in the articles, the state legislature opened an official inquiry of the Commission during the 1888-1889 session. The resulting report found that there were indeed abuses in how the park had been managed, and recommended dissolving the existing Commission to form a new one. However, perhaps due to intervening political interests, the legislature did not accept these recommendations, and instead approved an increased two-year budget for the existing Commission.

The public, and conservationists like John Muir, were not pleased. Muir had moved out of the valley in 1880, but remained concerned about its management. A visit to the park in 1889 only worsened his fears; he was appalled by what he perceived as the commercialism and exploitation of the land. Muir felt that the solution to this problem was to turn over management of Yosemite to the federal government, while increasing the amount of land under protection.

Muir had some unexpected advocates to his cause. He was joined by several Central Valley farmers, who desired protection for the water sources that irrigated their fields. The Southern Pacific Railroad also threw their support behind him, as they felt that a larger, better managed park would lead to a boost in tourism, and therefore train travel.

A bill was introduced in Congress which called for the protection of additional land adjacent to Yosemite Valley, as well as other Sierra Nevada forests. It easily passed both houses and was signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison on October 1, 1890. The new law set aside 1,400 square miles surrounding Yosemite Valley as “reserved forest lands.” However, this was only a partial victory for Muir and his supporters. While the newly protected lands would be managed by the federal government, the original Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove grant would remain under the control of the state of California, as shown in this 1906 map.

To oversee their portion of the protected lands, the federal government deployed U.S. Cavalry troops to Yosemite. They set up temporary headquarters at Wawona, and patrolled the park from May through October of each year. The troops were led by a superintendent who would serve one to two year terms. This regular turnover, in addition to their lack of connection to business or politics, allowed the Cavalry to enjoy a positive image in the eye of the public.

The Cavalry set out to improve many features of the park. They developed several trails, roads, and bridges that are still in use today. They implemented interpretive programs, such as naturalist talks. They also instituted strict rules for use of the land, eventually earning the respect of surrounding communities.

John Muir, whose love of Yosemite had been reinvigorated by the fight for additional protections, began regularly meeting with a group of conservationists to enjoy hikes in Yosemite’s high country. The group eventually decided to formalize, incorporating as the Sierra Club on June 4, 1892, as seen in these articles of incorporation. John Muir was selected as president. The Club reached an agreement with the Commission that would allow them to establish headquarters within the valley, and to provide maps and other information to park visitors.

The unusual situation of having a state park fully surrounded by a national park led to some unique challenges. The superintendent of the federal lands and the guardian of the Yosemite Valley were often at odds. Improvements to the surrounding lands felt disconnected from the situation within the valley.

Almost immediately after the 1890 act had been implemented, the U.S. Senate requested an investigation into whether the Yosemite grant had been mismanaged by California. Reports were delivered in 1892 that outlined several missteps by the state, including fencing off too much of the valley floor for grazing and high monopoly prices for hotels. It was advised that the land be returned to federal custody, but it would be many years before this recommendation was fully considered.

The tension between the Yosemite Commission and the federal government was made evident in a 1903 visit to Yosemite Valley by President Theodore Roosevelt. As seen in these meeting minutes, the Commission took great care to plan all aspects of Roosevelt’s trip, including hotel accommodations, provision of an escort, and regular evening entertainment. However, the trip did not go as they had planned. John Muir had already been chosen as Roosevelt’s escort, and they spent three days traveling and camping in Yosemite’s high country.

In their time together, Muir impressed upon Roosevelt the importance of preserving places like Yosemite. As a result of the trip, Roosevelt gained a newfound appreciation for the idea of parks belonging to the American people, leading directly to the establishment of many forest preserves, monuments, and national parks in the coming years. Roosevelt was also convinced that the entirety of the Yosemite park should be under the protection of the federal government.

For years, the Governor, the state legislature, and many interested Californians had been reluctant to the idea of returning custody of Yosemite Valley to the federal government. It was seen as a point of state pride and an economic benefit to retain control. However, seeing how well the federal government was managing the surrounding lands highlighted the previous failures of the Yosemite Commission. The inefficiency of having portions of the park managed by different entities was also becoming more apparent. Contrasting policies and rules confused visitors, and holistic approaches to park management were not possible.

In 1905, the Governor and California legislature agreed that returning the grant was the best way forward, though they were met with considerable opposition. Assembly Bill 248 barely passed in the legislature in March of that year, ceding Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove back to the federal government. A provision of the act required the U.S. Congress to formally accept the change.

Congress soon passed a bill providing funding for the Cavalry to move into Yosemite Valley, but they neglected to include language specifically accepting the recession. The Commission pointed out this technicality, and refused to acknowledge the federal government’s authority in the valley. They continued to control affairs in Yosemite Valley for several months, until Congress formally accepted the recession on June 11, 1906. Even then, it wasn’t until August that the Governor George Pardee was finally able to convince the Commission to surrender their hold on Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove, as indicated in this telegram sent to the Governor by park guardian George T. Harlow.

The U.S. Cavalry moved its headquarters from Wawona to the Yosemite Valley in the summer of 1906. Over the next several years, they continued their improvement of the park and established additional services, such as campgrounds and a hospital in 1914.

The automobile first arrived in Yosemite in 1900. This had irritated the superintendent, who was displeased by the degraded roads and drivers who violated regulations. He banned all automobiles within the park in 1907, but auto clubs and neighboring communities pushed back for several years. Eventually, even John Muir admitted that automobiles were the future, and would perhaps allow for even more tourists to Yosemite. The government accepted his recommendation to lift the ban in 1913, with all restrictions being lifted in 1916.

Almost immediately, Muir’s assertion proved correct; allowing automobiles to enter the park led to a dramatic increase in park visitors. The ease of travel to Yosemite Valley enticed people for whom visiting national parks had previously been out of reach. No longer was Yosemite exclusively the playground of the rich and highly motivated. Americans from all walks of life could now enjoy the scenic wonders of Yosemite, further convincing lawmakers of the value of state and national parks. Soon after, the National Park Service was established on August 25, 1916.

Yosemite continued to thrive under the new National Park System, and remains one of the most popular national parks in the world. Many of the tenets of the State and National Park Systems that are familiar to us today took root in the early days of Yosemite as one of the first state parks.

Although the Board of Yosemite Commissioners did not always live up to the promises of the original act granting Yosemite to California, they implemented many important features that are still in use today. Their failures also provided significant lessons for the state and federal governments regarding what would not work in the management of protected lands. By the time that Yosemite became a national park, leaders had the benefit of the knowledge gained from these mistakes, as well as the powerful words of conservationists like John Muir and the Sierra Club.

From the Ahwahneechees to today’s tourists, many people have felt a special connection to Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove. They represent an important source of inspiration for the system of parks that we now enjoy as the pride of California and the United States.