October 1 - Yosemite National Park Established

This Day in History: 1 October 2020

 

1 October 1890

 

130 years ago, today, an act of Congress created Yosemite National Park. Environmental trailblazer John Muir and his colleagues had campaigned for the congressional action, which was signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison. Native Americans had been the main residents of the Yosemite Valley prior to this, until the 1849 gold rush brought thousands of miners and settlers to the region. Yosemite Valley's ecosystem was damaged by the tourism this brought. To ward off further exploitation, conservatists convinced President Abraham Lincoln in 1864 to declare the area as a public trust of California. This marked the first time that the government protected land for public enjoyment.

 

Despite this, in 1889, John Muir found that the vast meadows surrounding Yosemite Valley were being overrun and destroyed by domestic sheep grazing. They lobbied for national park status for the large wilderness around the valley, causing Congress to set aside over 1,500 square miles of land for Yosemite National Park. Today, over 3 million people visit Yosemite annually, to see its stunning landmarks, such as the 2,425-foot-high Yosemite Falls, one of the world's tallest waterfalls, and the three groves of giant sequoias, the world's biggest trees.

 

Want to find out more about Yosemite National Park? Click here for more information, or here for more about the early environmentalists.