"The Big Trees and Yo Semite": 1860 - 1873


SOME FACTS
before 1851: Valley lived in by Yosemite portion of Miwok tribe, who call it Ahwahnee
1851: "Discovery" of Valley by non-native Americans, a cavalry troop led by Major
James Savage, pursuing a party of Yosemites -- they rename the valley Yo-Semite
1852: "Discovery" of the Big Trees of Calaveras by A. T. Dowd,
a hunter employed by the Union Water Company
1855: J. M. Hutchings, collecting material for a California Magazine article,
leads first party of sight-seers into Valley
1856: First house built in Valley, a hotel for tourists
1864: To preserve the Valley and "Big Trees," Congress gives California
48.6 square miles for a state park
1890: Yosemite National Park established

OTHER ACCOUNTS
MT's ACCOUNT

SELECTED ILLUSTRATIONS
Scenes of Wonder
Taylor's At Home
Kneeland's Wonders of Yosemite
Washburn's Yosemite
Crofut's Tourist Guide
Heart of the Sierras


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