YOSEMITE TIMELINE MASTER.xlsx Yosemite Timeline By Year Event Year Event Date Event Description Tag -50000000 50 million years ago, the Yosemite landscape likely consisted of rolling hills, with the Merced River meandering through a wide trough with hardwood forests. Natural Events -40000000 40 million years ago the Sierra Nevada mountains began their uplift and westward tilt, accelerating the Merced River flow and its erosional cutting of the valley Natural Events -3000000 3 million years ago, the raging Merced River cuts its v-shaped canyon as much as 3,000 feet deep. Natural Events -1000000 1 million years ago up to 250,000 years ago, ice age glacial advances fills Yosemite Valley with glacial ice leaving only top 900 feet of Half Dome exposed Natural Events -30000 30,000 years ago, during the Tioga glaciation, the Yosemite Glacier. a smaller ice sheet, advanced into the Valley stopping near Bridalveil Fall, leaving a glacial moraine Natural Events -10000 10,000 years ago, most glacial ice had melted and left a lake dammed by the Bridalveil glacial moraine Natural Events -8000 First people settle in region of Sierra Nevada. First People -4500 4,500 years ago: First Miwuks settle in Yosemite area First People 1542 11/xx/1542 Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Spanish explorer coined the phrase "Sierra Nevada" for mountains covered with snow (although he never saw the actual Sierra Nevada Mountains). Namings 1556 The Giovanni Battista Ramusio map of 1556, which appears in the 3rd volume of Ramusio’s Navigationi et Viaggi, is the first map to have the name “Sierra Nevada” appear on it. Influential Publications 1739 Estimated year for "The Slide" on Slide Mountain, the largest (undocumented) Yosemite rockfall ever recorded, estimated at 67 million cubic feet Natural Events 1777 Pedro Font's diary of the Anza Expedition of 1775-1776, includes a map that names the range currently known as the Sierra Nevada ("Snowy Mountains") Namings 1789 Naturalist Reverend Gilbert White publishes The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, a pioneering work which hugely influenced the development of the science of natural history. Influential Publications 1800 Black sickness and death of Jacinta. Ouma leads surviving Ahwahneeche over mountains. Mono Lake exile of Ahwahneechee among Mono Tribes. Tenaya born. Events of Note 1806 09/27/1806 Mariposa (Spanish for "Butterfly") is named because of "the great multitudes of these (butterflies)" by the Gabriel Moraga 25-man Expedition that explored central California to establish sites for missions. In addition, since it was five days after the feast day for Our Lady of Mercy, Moraga named the river El Rio De Nuestra Senora de la Merced. It was eventually shorted to Merced, and later adopted by the county and a city we know today. Namings 1809 02/12/1809 Naturalist Charles Darwin is Born Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1810 English poet William Wordsworth’s “Guide Through the District of the Lakes in the North of England” proposes a “national property in which every man has a right and an interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy.” Influential Publications 1814 03/28/1814 Galen Clark, Yosemite's first Guardian, is born in Shipton, Quebec, Canada (Note: some biographies also list his birthplace as Dublin, New Hampshire (where he spent much of his youth), and he himself once wrote that he was born in Massachusetts) Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1814 Alexander von Humboldt publishes an English translation of: "Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Equinoctial Region," a work that greatly influenced Darwin and Muir . Influential Publications 1817 05/10/1817 Pioneer settler James Lamon is born in Virginia Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1817 07/12/1817 Henry David Thoreau born in Concord, Massachusetts Births, Deaths & Anniversaries Version: 2019/06/06 of (c) 2019 Tom Arfsten All rights Reserve1 YOSEMITE TIMELINE MASTER.xlsx Yosemite Timeline By Year 1819 Estwick Evans publishes “A Pedestrious Tour, or Four Thousand Miles, Through the Western States and Territories, During the Winter and Spring of 1818.” Camping with “a brace of pistols,” a dagger, a hatchet, a rifle, and the “virtues of savage life.” Influential Publications 1820 02/10/1820 James Mason Hutchings is born in England Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1820 John James Audubon begins illustrating all of America's birds for his masterwork, "Birds of America, 1827-1838" Influential Publications 1822 04/26/1822 Frederick Law Olmsted is born in Hartford, CT Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1823 James Fenimore Cooper writes "The Pioneers", which contains the idea that humans should "govern the resources of nature by certain principles in order to conserve them." Influential Publications 1827 Hunter and trapper Jedediah Smith is first European believed to cross Sierra Nevada from west to east Discoveries & First Events 1832 Arkansas Hot Springs is established as a national reservation, setting a precedent for a national park system. Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1832 Artist George Catlin wrote, "by some great protecting policy of government... in a magnificent park.... A nation's park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty!" Namings 1833 10/xx/1833 Joseph R. Walker and Zenas Leonard cross Yosemite over the ridge between Tuolumne and Merced watersheds, but most likely miss Tuolumne Meadows; first traverse of Sierra Nevada from east to west. Giant sequoias (probably Tuolumne Grove) first seen by white men Discoveries & First Events 1835 Ralph Waldo Emerson writes the essay "Nature", beginning an American tradition of Transcendentalism continued by Thoreau, Fuller, Walt Whitman and others. Influential Publications 1838 04/21/1838 John Muir born in Dunbar, Scotland Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1844 Mathematician Ada Lovelace writes "There is too much tendency to making separate and independent bundles of both the physical and the moral facts of the universe... all and everything is naturally related and interconnected. " Influential Publications 1844 Mexico's Mariposa Grant is given to Juan Bautista Alvarado.This "floating" grant was ten square leagues (approx. 44,400 acres) located generally on the Mariposa Creek between the San Joaquin, Chowchilla, and Merced rivers and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1847 John C. Fremont gave $3,280 to Thomas O. Larkin, the U.S. consul to the Territory of California, to buy the Santa Cruz Ranch (near San Jose). Instead, Larkin purchased the “Las Mariposas Grant” from Alvarado. Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1848 01/24/1848 James Marshall discovers gold on the American River at Sutter's Mill, in Coloma, and the Gold Rush to California begins Discoveries & First Events 1848 02/02/1848 Mexico cedes California to the US under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1849 03/03/1849 US Department of Interior is created Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1849 10/18/1849 William Penn Abrams & U. N. Reamer gaze into Yosemite Valley while lost on a hunting expedition from their camp on the South Fork of the Merced River. Discoveries & First Events 1849 James D. Savage Trading Post Established Imfrastructure 1849 Giant sequoias "in Mariposa County", "east of Chowchillas" are observed by Major Burney, the first county sheriff, and John McCauley Discoveries & First Events Version: 2019/06/06 of (c) 2019 Tom Arfsten All rights Reserve2 YOSEMITE TIMELINE MASTER.xlsx Yosemite Timeline By Year 1850 10/29/1850 California becomes a state Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1850 10/29/1850 Mariposa County Established Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1850 10/29/1850 Tuolumne County Organized Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1850 12/xx/1850 Miwuks attack Savage's Fresno River store and Mariposa Creek station First People 1850 African American fur trapper and explorer James P. Beckwourth finds an important route through the Sierra Nevadas, leading the first wagon train of settlers through what would become "Beckwourth Pass." Discoveries & First Events 1850 Joseph Screech "discovers" Hetch Hetchy Valley Discoveries & First Events 1850 James D. Savage forced to abandon Merced River trading post Notable Events 1851 01/10/1851 Julius Pratt claims that in January 1851 he encountered the first Americans (a local militia) who had just entered the Yosemite Valley in pursuit of some Native Americans (Century Magazine 1891) Events of Note 1851 01/11/1851 Mariposa County Sheriff James Burney leads local militia in an indecisive clash with the natives on a mountainside near present day Oakhurst, California. First People 1851 03/19/1851 Camp Fremont Treaty (signed, but never ratified ) forces six tribes to give up lands stretching from the coast through much of Yosemite; reservations are created near Snelling and Dickerson's Ferry First People 1851 03/19/1851 James Savage organizes 57 men into the Mariposa Battalion at Agua Fria First People 1851 03/25/1851 Mariposa Battalion views Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point - the documented "discovery of Yosemite Valley". [Note: some references give the date at 03/21/1851] Discoveries & First Events 1851 03/27/1851 Mariposa Battalion under Captain Boling followed the natives into the mountains, marching through 3 to 5 foot snow drifts entering the Yosemite Valley refuge of the Ahwahneechees, but found few natives. [Documented in the Diary of Robert Eccleston] Discoveries & First Events 1851 03/27/1851 Yosemite Valley is named by Mariposa Battalion Namings 1851 03/28/1851 Mariposa Battalion with James Savage & Lafayette Bunnell view Vernal and Nevada Falls Discoveries & First Events 1851 03/xx/1851 Nutchu Indian camp at Wawona are “surprised and captured” by Mariposa Battalion led by Major James D. Savage. First People 1851 05/15/1851 First letter is dispatched from Yosemite Valley from Captain Boling to Major Savage Discoveries & First Events 1851 05/22/1851 Second entry to Yosemite by Capt. John Boling’s company of 35 men results in capture of Chief Tenaya and Yosemite Miwuks at Tenaya Lake. First People 1851 1/6/1851 Governor Burnett advocates exclusionary policies toward African Americans and made infamous statements supporting a "war of extermination" against California Indians, blacks and Chinese. Events of note 1851 12/xx/1851 Chief Tenaya and Family are permitted to return to Yosemite Valley in winters, after pledging peace First People 1852 05/04/1852 Grove of Giant Sequoias viewed by Ogg and a party of prospectors (possibly Mariposa Grove or Nelder's (Fresno) Grove) Discoveries & First Events 1852 05/xx/1852 Lt. Tredwell Moore enters valley with detachment, pursues Yosemites over Mono Trail and "discovers" Mono Basin Discoveries & First Events 1852 05/xx/1852 Two prospectors are killed near Bridalveil Fall, reportedly by local Miwuks. First People Version: 2019/06/06 of (c) 2019 Tom Arfsten All rights Reserve3 YOSEMITE TIMELINE MASTER.xlsx Yosemite Timeline By Year 1852 05/xy/1852 Lt. Tredwell Moore, U.S. Army officer, publishes "Reports from Lt. Tredwell Moore to the Pacific Division on the Mariposa Indian War of 1852" Influential Publications 1852 07/05/1852 In Yosemite Valley, Lt. Tredwell Moore captures five Miwuks deemed responsible for the murder, and executes them by musket. First People 1852 Leroy "Lee" Vining leads prospectors over Sierra; he becomes the first homesteader in the Mono area, building a sawmill Discoveries & First Events 1852 Calaveras Grove of Big Trees (Giant Sequoias) is discovered in Calaveras County Discoveries & First Events 1852 August Dowd discovers the Mammoth Tree, a Giant Sequoia in Calaveras County. It stood 300 feet tall and was over 1,200 years old. Discoveries & First Events 1853 06/27/1853 Lumberjacks spent three weeks cutting down the Mammoth Tree in Calaveras County Events of Note 1853 06/xx/1853 George Gale and a companion, strips a 116 foot slice of bark from the the 315 foot high Mother of the Forest Tree in Calaveras Grove Big Trees, and ships the bark to New York City for public shows. Destroyed in fire in 1865. Notable Events 1853 Yosemite Miwuks return year round to Yosemite Valley. A horse- stealing incident precipitates a fight between the Mono Paiutes and the Ahwahneechees (Yosemites), with six of the latter, including Chief Tenaya, killed. First People 1854 01/20/1854 Mariposa Chronicle weekly newspaper first published by W. T. Whitacre and A. S. Gould Notable Events 1854 05/xx/1854 Mariposa County Courthouse erected for $9,300 on land donated by John C. Fremont Imfrastructure 1854 Robert Bruce Lamon leads first (undocumented) tourist party to Yosemite Valley, erects sign "Lamon Fall" at later named "Vernal Fall" Discoveries & First Events 1854 Henry David Thoreau publishes "Walden, or Life in the Woods" Influential Publications 1854 Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, author of "Walden", writes that wilderness sanctuaries are the "need of civilized man." Influential Publications 1854 John (James Capen) "Grizzly" Adams enters Yosemite, kills a grizzly and takes her two cubs ("Ben Franklin" and "Rambler") nursing them with his greyhound. Notable People 1855 06/xx/1855 Mariposa Chronicle is sold twice and finally renamed Mariposa Gazette by L. A. Holmes Notable Events 1855 07/05/1855 James Mason Hutchings sets off from Mariposa to Yosemite Valley (first documented tour to Yosemite Valley), including artist Thomas Ayres, Walter Millard, and Alexander Stair, and two local Indian guides. Discoveries & First Events 1855 07/12/1855 Thomas A. Ayres creates 6 Sketches in Yosemite Valley with James Mason Hutchings tour group: the first documented artist depiction of Yosemite Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1855 08/09/1855 James Mason Hutchings, Yosemite pioneer, publishes "California for Waterfalls!,” in Mariposa Gazette (an account of a tourist party to Yosemite) Influential Publications 1855 10/xx/1855 Galen Clark first visits Wawona and Yosemite Valley with a touring group of miners Discoveries & First Events 1855 42 Attendance 1855 Surveyors with Lafayette Bunnell erect first (seasonal) house (a roofless shack) in Yosemite Valley Imfrastructure 1855 Horse Trail from Mormon Bar, Mariposa to Yosemite Valley is begun by Mann Brothers Imfrastructure 1856 05/xx/1856 Judge B. S. Walworth, John C. Anderson, W. C. Walling, and I. A. Epperson homestead in Yosemite Valley and begin construction of Lower Hotel at the foot of the 4 Mile Trail (area then called Lower Village) (First permanent structure in Yosemite Valley) Imfrastructure 1856 07/xx/1856 James Mason Hutchings, Yosemite pioneer, publishes first volume of "Hutchings’ Illustrated California Magazine" including "The Yo-ham-i- te Valley, and its Water-falls” Influential Publications Version: 2019/06/06 of (c) 2019 Tom Arfsten All rights Reserve4 YOSEMITE TIMELINE MASTER.xlsx Yosemite Timeline By Year 1856 07/xy/1856 Artist Thomas A. Ayers' lithographs introduces Yosemite to the East. "Country Gentleman" republishes articles that declare the Yosemite Valley to be "the most striking natural wonder on the Pacific." Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1856 07/xz/1856 Madame Gautier of Mariposa is first white woman to visit Yosemite Valley Discoveries & First Events 1856 08/01/1856 Mann Brothers horse trail from Mariposa to Wawona to Yosemite Valley opens Imfrastructure 1856 08/05/1856 Warren Baer publishes “A Trip to the Yosemite Falls” in Mariposa Democrat, giving an early extensive description of Yosemite Valley Influential Publications 1856 12/xx/1856 42 Attendance 1856 Louis Trabucco was born in 1821 and emigrated from Italy in 1847. He opened his first store in Bear Valley in 1856. Imfrastructure 1856 Galen Clark homesteads 160 acres and opens Clark's Station rest stop for tourists at the site of the current Wawona Golf Course 7th green Imfrastructure 1856 Coulterville Free Trail blazed from Bull Creek through Deer Flat, Hazel Green, Crane Flat, Tamarack Flat, and Gentry’s to the valley floor by G. W, Coulter & Lafayette Bunnell Imfrastructure 1857 04/xx/1857 Galen Clark establishes 160 acre homestead claim later to be called "Clark's Station", initially settling on site west of present day 7th Green of Wawona Golf Course Discoveries & First Events 1857 05/xy/1857 Buck Beardsley and Gustavus Hite begin Upper Hotel as a canvas covered shack Imfrastructure 1857 07/xy/1857 Frederick Butman (1820-1871) and Antoine Claveau do first oil paintings of Yosemite . Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1857 09/xy/1857 Galen Clark and Milton Mann "discover", explore and begin to publicize the Mariposa Grove. Discoveries & First Events 1857 10/xy/1857 Galen Clark builds an (uncovered) bridge over the South Fork of the Merced River, later called "Clark's Crossing" Imfrastructure 1857 11/xy/1857 James Russell Lowell, editor of the "Atlantic Monthly" writes an article on 'Humanity to Trees ' proposing to establish a society for the prevention of cruelty to trees. Influential Publications 1858 05/10/1858 J. L. Cogwell hunting party Visits Tuolumne Grove. They named the snag, now known as the Dead Giant, “King Solomon’s Temple.” Discoveries & First Events 1858 11/xy/1858 Galen Clark "discovers" Fresno Grove (later Nelder's Grove) of Giant Sequoias Discoveries & First Events 1858 Lower Hotel completed and run for one year by managers Mr. & Mrs. John H. Neal Imfrastructure 1859 04/xx/1859 James Lamon arrives in Yosemite Valley and builds first log cabin; lives in season only for first two years; establishes the first homestead at present day Curry Village (Royal Arch Farms) planting orchards and gardens Imfrastructure 1859 05/xx/1859 Buck Beardsley and Gustavus Hite complete Upper Hotel near Sentinel Bridge, which opens for business (Operated by Mr. Peck) Imfrastructure 1859 05/xx/1859 Lafayette Houghton Bunnell, miner, publishes “How the Yo-Semite Valley was Discovered and Named,” in Hutchings’ Illustrated California Magazine Influential Publications 1859 06/18/1859 Charles L . Weed (1824-1903) accompanies Hutchings via Coulterville Trail ; makes first photograph of Yosemite Falls. Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1859 07/yy/1859 Galen Clark relocates Clark Station to site of present day Wawona Hotel Imfrastructure 1859 08/06/1859 Thomas A. Ayres publishes “A Trip to the Yohamite Valley” in San Francisco Daily, Alta Influential Publications 1859 10/xx/1859 James Mason Hutchings, Yosemite pioneer, publishes "“The Great Yo- Semite Valley, ”Hutchings’ California Magazine" (First account of Yosemite Valley with illustrations) Influential Publications 1859 Mariposa Jail Built with natural granite stones Imfrastructure 1859 Charles Darwin publishes "On the Origin of Species" Influential Publications 1860 04/03/1860 US Pony Express Mail System begins Events of Note Version: 2019/06/06 of (c) 2019 Tom Arfsten All rights Reserve5 YOSEMITE TIMELINE MASTER.xlsx Yosemite Timeline By Year 1860 10/25/1860 James Capen "Grizzly" Adams dies Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1860 10/xx/1860 Thomas Starr King writes “The Ninth Symphony (by Beethoven) is the Yosemite of music! Great is granite and the Yosemite is its prophet!” Influential Publications 1860 10/xx/1860 Thomas Starr King, Unitarian minister, publishes the first of 8 letters as "A Vacation among the Sierras" following his first visit to Yosemite Valley. Influential Publications 1860 California begins its official mineral collection. It was later housed in the California State Mineral and Mining Museum in Mariposa County. Discoveries & First Events 1860 Tioga Mine (Sheepherder Mine) is established at Tioga Hill; the Silver Sheepherder lode was discovered by "Doc" Chase (a dentist) in 1859, but abandoned a short while after Discoveries & First Events 1860 Thomas H. Huxley writes "The question of questions for mankind – the problem which underlies all others" – was to ascertain "the place which Man occupies in nature." "What are the limits of our power over nature, and of nature's power over us?" Influential Publications 1860 California State Geological Survey established under Prof. Josiah D. Whitney Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1860 Louis Trabucco married 19 year old Elena Lambruschini (from Italy). After returning to Bear Valley they opened stores in Benton Mills, (Bagby), Mount Bullion and Mount Ophir in addition to the Bear Valley store. Notable People 1860 Horace Greeley, newspaper editor, publishes "An Overland Journey from New York to San Francisco in the Summer of 1859". Of Yosemite Valley he said: "I know of no single wonder of nature on earth which can claim superiority over Yosemite." Notable People 1861 William Smith Jewett visits and paints in Yosemite Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1861 Photographer Carleton E . Watkins (1829-1916) entered Yosemite, creates mammoth photographic plates Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1861 John Hite establishes mine at Hite's Cove on the south fork of the Merced River Discoveries & First Events 1861 Central Pacific Railroad is founded by Sacramento merchants Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins and Collis P. Huntington. Events of Note 1861 James Lemon files first preemption claim for property below Royal Arches (site of current day Ahwahnee) Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1862 01/24/1862 Devastating "Great California Flood" in the winter hits Yosemite, with rains beginning in November, 1861 and culminating late January, 1862 Natural Events 1862 05/06/1862 Henry David Thoreau died in Concord, Massachusetts Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1862 Thomas Hill (1829-1908), artist, first visited Yosemite Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1862 James Lamon becomes first year-round resident in Yosemite Valley on his homestead property during the winter of 1862-1863 Discoveries & First Events 1862 James Mason Hutchings, Yosemite pioneer, publishes "Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California" (First travel guide for Yosemite) Influential Publications 1862 US Dept. of Agriculture is established. President Abraham Lincoln calls it "the people's department" since 90 percent of Americans at this time are farmers. Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements Version: 2019/06/06 of (c) 2019 Tom Arfsten All rights Reserve6 YOSEMITE TIMELINE MASTER.xlsx Yosemite Timeline By Year 1862 Mariposa County purchases 45 mile Wawona to Yosemite Valley horse trail, as a public highway Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1863 Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), artist, first visit to Yosemite Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1863 St. Joseph Catholic Church built in Mariposa Imfrastructure 1863 James Lamon builds a second cabin in Yosemite Valley near Royal Arches Imfrastructure 1863 California Geologic Survey explores upper Merced River to Tuolumne River Events of Note 1863 Galen Clark reports Sea-Captain Gould, returning from mining in Mono County, is killed by Miwuks between Yosemite Valley and Clark's Station First People 1863 John C. Fremont resells Fremont Grant for $6,000,000 Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1864 02/20/1864 Frederick Law Olmsted pushes for protection of Yosemite Valley and is first to advance the idea of placing certain areas under government protection. Notable People 1864 03/04/1864 Thomas Starr King, Unitarian minister, dies. (During the Civil War, he is credited with saving California from becoming a separate republic. The San Francisco site of his rallies is now named Union Square. Mt. Starr King is named for him) Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1864 06/30/1864 Abraham Lincoln Signs Yosemite Grant Creating The California Public Trust [S.203; Public Act No, 159} Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1864 08/23/1864 Florence Hutchings is first white child born In Yosemite Valley Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1864 09/28/1864 Galen Clark appointed to first panel of Commissioners for Yosemite Grant (1864-1880) Administrators & Appointees 1864 09/28/1864 William Ashburner appointed to first panel of Commissioners for Yosemite Grant (1864-1880) Administrators & Appointees 1864 09/28/1864 George W. Coulter appointed to first panel of Commissioners for Yosemite Grant (1864-1875) Administrators & Appointees 1864 09/28/1864 Alexander Deering appointed to first panel of Commissioners for Yosemite Grant (1864-1873) Administrators & Appointees 1864 09/28/1864 Erastus Saurin Holden appointed to first panel of Commissioners for Yosemite Grant (1864-1880) Administrators & Appointees 1864 09/28/1864 Israel Ward Raymond appointed to first panel of Commissioners for Yosemite Grant (1864-1888) Administrators & Appointees 1864 09/28/1864 Josiah Dwight Whitney appointed to first panel of Commissioners for Yosemite Grant (1864-1878) Administrators & Appointees 1864 09/28/1864 Governor F. K. Low appointed a board of commissioners to manage the park. Frederick Law Olmsted Assumes Administrative Control Over Yosemite Grant (Sept. 28, 1864-May 21, 1866) Administrators & Appointees 1864 10/xx/1864 Yosemite Grant Boundaries survey, required by the Act of Congress, is initiated by J. T. Gardner and C. King, of California Geologic Society Discoveries & First Events 1864 11/xx/1864 Flooding occurs in Yosemite, Clarence King reporting flood waters nearly reached the door of his cabin, near the Lower Hotel Natural Events 1864 12/31/1864 147 Attendance 1864 Galen Clark constructs "Galen's Hospice", a log cabin in Mariposa Grove (current site of Galen Clark Museum) Imfrastructure 1864 James M. Hutchings Moves to Yosemite Valley, acquires "Upper Hotel": Renames it the "Hutchings House" - continues operation until 1874 Imfrastructure 1864 William Brewer & Frederick Law Olmstead visit Tuolumne Meadows and make first ascent (by horseback) of Mount Gibbs Discoveries & First Events Version: 2019/06/06 of (c) 2019 Tom Arfsten All rights Reserve7 YOSEMITE TIMELINE MASTER.xlsx Yosemite Timeline By Year 1864 George P. Marsh publishes "Man and Nature": "man pursues his victims with reckless destructiveness...he unsparingly persecutes, even to extirpation, thousands of organic forms which he cannot consume" Influential Publications 1864 I. W. (Israel Ward) Raymond Petitions Senator Conness for Yosemite Grant to Protect 2 Parcels: Yosemite Valley & Mariposa Grove (60.4 sq. miles) Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1865 08/09/1865 Frederick Law Olmsted releases "Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove: A Preliminary Report" to Yosemite Commissioners; Ashburner and Whitney dismiss its further publication Influential Publications 1865 12/31/1865 369 Attendance 1865 "View of the Yosemite Valley" is painted by Thomas Hill. The painting served as the backdrop for the 2009 Barack Obama Inaugural Luncheon. Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1865 Albert Bierstadt Paints "Looking Down Yosemite Valley" Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1865 Yosemite Chapel foundations raised after flood of 1864 Imfrastructure 1865 Walt Whitman writes "Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun," which reflects contradicting public views of conquering nature and respecting it. Influential Publications 1866 04/02/1866 California State Legislature formally accepts the Yosemite Grant Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1866 05/21/1866 Henry W. Cleaveland appointed as a Commissioner for Yosemite Grant (1866-1880) Administrators & Appointees 1866 05/21/1866 California Governor Frederick F. Low named first President of Yosemite Grant (1866-1867) Administrators & Appointees 1866 05/21/1866 Galen Clark Named First Guardian Of Yosemite Grant (1866-1879) [Some references give the date as 05/01/1866] Administrators & Appointees 1866 07/28/1866 The first regular Army regiments comprising African-American soldiers, “Buffalo Soldiers” were established by Congress. A contihgent later on guarded Yosemite preceding the NPS Rangers. Notable People 1866 12/31/1866 438 Attendance 1866 Schlageter Hotel built in Mariposa Imfrastructure 1866 Trabucco Warehouse built in Mariposa Imfrastructure 1866 Mariposa County Courthouse adds cupola and clock Imfrastructure 1866 Yosemite stable operations and first saddle train business is begun by James M. Hutchings Discoveries & First Events 1866 10th U.S. Cavalry is formed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas as an all- African-American regiment, later coined "Buffalo Soldiers" Events of Note 1866 The term "ecology" is coined by Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel. Namings 1867 07/04/1867 Stephen T Mather, first Director of National Parks, is born in San Francisco Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1867 08/05/1867 Gertrude "Cosie" Hutchings Mills is born In Yosemite Valley (2nd white child born in Yosemite) Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1867 12/23/1867 Flood from 3 foot snow pack followed by rain deluges Yosemite up to nine feet in water; Natural Events 1867 California Governor Henry H. Haight named President of Yosemite Grant (1867-1871) Administrators & Appointees 1867 Photographer Martin M. Hazeltine (1827-1903) makes first of several trips through Yosemite, Mariposa Big Trees and the High Sierra Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1867 W. H. Harris photographs with California Geological Survey field party Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1867 Photographer Eadweard J. Muybridge (1830-1904), under "HELIOS" trademark, makes 160 stereographs and 100 plates in Yosemite Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1867 James Hutchings completes his year round two-story cabin near Yosemite Falls; 2nd floor used as refuge during the winter flood of 1867 Imfrastructure Version: 2019/06/06 of (c) 2019 Tom Arfsten All rights Reserve8 YOSEMITE TIMELINE MASTER.xlsx Yosemite Timeline By Year 1868 03/27/1868 John Muir arrives by steamer in San Francisco, soon to begin a 300 mile journey with Engliahman Joseph Chilwell. Discoveries & First Events 1868 623 Attendance 1868 Pohono Bridge is completed (first named "Tisaack Bridge ") Imfrastructure 1868 John Muir First Visits Yosemite Discoveries & First Events 1868 Charles F. Hoffmann, topographer publishes “Notes on Hetch-Hetchy Valley” Influential Publications 1868 John S. Hittell, writer, publishes "Yosemite: Its Wonders and Its Beauties" Influential Publications 1869 03/08/1869 Birth Of Charles Tuttle Leidig (First white boy born In Yosemite) Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1869 08/09/1869 The YoSemite post office opens; J. M. Hutchings is named first postmaster Discoveries & First Events 1869 09/07/1869 John Muir climbs Cathedral Peak without a rope (1870?) Climbing 1869 First recorded sale of an Indian basket to a Yosemite tourist is recorded. First People 1869 1,122 Attendance 1869 A fire destroys the original Bear Valley Trabucco Store, and store is relocated to present site on the corner of Route 49 and Bear Valley Road Imfrastructure 1869 John Muir builds a cabin close to little Yosemite Creek near Lower Yosemite Falls, channels a stream through the floor, and sleeps suspended from the rafters Imfrastructure 1869 John Muir builds and helps operate Hutchings sawmill in Yosemite Valley Imfrastructure 1869 Mountain View House (Peregoy's) at Westfall Meadow (Peregoy Meadow) erected on Mann Brother s Trail Imfrastructure 1869 Mr. & Mrs. A. G. Black Build Black's Hotel on site of demolished Lower Hotel Imfrastructure 1869 George Leidig Erects Leidig's Hotel Near Black's Hotel Imfrastructure 1869 Central Pacific Railroad is completed from Sacramento to Stockton. Events of Note 1869 Josiah D. Whitney publishes "The Yosemite Book" introducing the term "national park" Influential Publications 1869 Edwin Moore Acquires Half Interest In Clark's Station: Renamed Clark & Moore's Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1869 John Muir summers in High Country with Patrick Delaney's sheep, making first observations of glacial activity in Yosemite Notable People 1870 02/07/1870 Joseph N. LeConte is born Births, Deaths & Anniversaries 1870 04/28/1870 Alpine House Hotel erected by Albert Snow above Vernal Fall (later to be part of La Casa Nevada) Imfrastructure 1870 06/24/1870 First grave in Yosemite Cemetery is created, with a simple marker inscribed "A Boy," believed to be John Bennett drowned while attempting the crossing of the Merced River Discoveries & First Events 1870 06/xx/1870 British celebrity Maria Thérèse Longworth Yelverton, aka the Viscountess Avonmore, visited Yosemite, and took copious notes for a novel. Notable People 1870 08/05/1870 John Muir meets Professor Joseph LeConte; Explores together Tuolumne and the Grand Canyon Of The Tuolumne Notable People 1870 Henry Cheever Pratt paints first depiction of Tuolumne Grove Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1870 John C. Soule, Boston, publishes a long series of stereographs taken by Martin Hazeltine. Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1870 Charles Bierstadt, older brother of Albert Bierstadt, photographs Yosemite Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1870 Thomas C. Roche (1827-1895) photographs Yosemite for E. & H.T. Anthony Arts, Photography, & Crafts Version: 2019/06/06 of (c) 2019 Tom Arfsten All rights Reserve9 YOSEMITE TIMELINE MASTER.xlsx Yosemite Timeline By Year 1870 Photographer John J. Reilly (1838-1894) first enters Yosemite, and establishes first picture gallery in the valley (stereographs). Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1870 1,735 Attendance 1870 Lake House built at Mirror Lake by Leonidas Wharton and Pete Gordon, as a boathouse/saloon, but was impacted by Owens earthquake. Converted to a dancing cotillion and boathouse in 1874 Imfrastructure 1870 M. M. Hazeltine leads Boston Board of Trade party to Yosemite via the first true coast-to-coast train. Events of Note 1870 Fred Brightman starts a saddle train competition to Hutchings Events of Note 1870 John Muir publishes his "Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf", describing his "botanical excursion" of 1869. Influential Publications 1870 The Mariposa-to-Wawona stage road (Chowchilla Mountain Road) completed. Imfrastructure 1870 Albert Snow Builds Trail up to flat below Nevada Fall Imfrastructure 1871 01/xx/1871 John Muir builds a "hang nest" jutting outwards, under a gable at the north end of Hutchings' saw mill, very close to his cabin; uses it as a study Imfrastructure 1871 05/01/1871 Cosmopolitan Bath House and Saloon opened by J. C. Smith across road from present day Chapel Imfrastructure 1871 05/xx/1871 John Muir meets Ralph Waldo Emerson in Yosemite Notable People 1871 08/29/1871 J. B. Tileston makes first ascent of Mount Lyell Discoveries & First Events 1871 12/19/1871 Major flood in Yosemite written about by John Muir Natural Events 1871 California Governor Newton Booth named President of Yosemite Grant (1871-1875) Administrators & Appointees 1871 James Davis Smillie, landscape painter, visits Yosemite. Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1871 Kilburn Brothers, New Hampshire, publishes a series of some 60 stereographs taken by Hazeltine. Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1871 Charles L . Pond photographs Yosemite and Calaveras Big Trees Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1871 John Muir first visits Hetch Hetchy Discoveries & First Events 1871 In 1871, Chief of United States Engineers Brigadier-General A. a. Humphries commissioned Lieutenant George M. Wheeler to survey all lands west of the 100th meridian. Administrators & Appointees 1871 John Muir moves into a cabin at Black's Hotel to work on a manuscript, when Muir's cabin is usurped for Hutching's sister Events of Note 1871 John Muir writes "Yosemite Glaciers" for the New York Tribune. Influential Publications 1871 John Muir publishes "The Death of a Glacier" Influential Publications 1871 Samuel Kneeland, zoologist, publishes "The Wonders of the Yosemite Valley, and of California" (With original photographic illustrations, by John P. Soule) Influential Publications 1871 Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton first visit Yosemite. Notable People 1871 Wagon Road is extended from Big Oak Flat through Hardin's Ranch, to Gentry's at the perimeter of the Yosemite Grant Imfrastructure 1871 James McCauley contracts with Yosemite Commissioners to hire John Conway to build and operate a toll Four Mile Trail from Leidig Hotel to Glacier Point Imfrastructure 1871 John Conway Builds Trail From Alpine House (La Casa Nevada) To Little Yosemite Valley Imfrastructure 1872 03/26/1872 Owens Valley (near Lone Pine) earthquake shakes Yosemite, generating a 47,000 cubic yard rockfall from Eagle Rock (above Yosemite Chapel); Albert Snow reports rockfall on Liberty Cap which stopped Nevada Fall from flowing nearly a minute Natural Events 1872 05/01/1872 Telegraph Line is erected from Sonora to Yosemite Valley by Harlow Street; first telegraph message sent from Hutchings House by W. M. Sell Infrastructure Version: 2019/06/06 of (c) 2019 Tom Arfsten All rights Reserve10 YOSEMITE TIMELINE MASTER.xlsx Yosemite Timeline By Year 1872 12/xx/1872 Supreme Court rules in Hutchings v. Low that national parks are constitutional Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1872 xx/xx/1872 Viscountess Avonmore (Therese Yelverton) publishes Yosemite’s first novel "Zanita" modeled on Flo Hutchings, her sister Gertrude (as "Cosie"), and John Muir portrayed as Kenmuir. Influential Publications 1872 Painter Thomas Moran (1837-1926) first visits Yosemite. Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1872 Photographer George Fiske (1835-1918) first visits Yosemite Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1872 John Muir builds a cabin near the Lamon home opposite the Royal Arches "in a clump of carnus bushes" Imfrastructure 1872 James McCauley begins the firefall from Glacier Point. Discoveries & First Events 1872 John Muir begins magazine article writing Events of Note 1872 Central Pacific Railroadis built to Merced Events of Note 1872 First documented usage of the Hite's Cove horse trail from Mariposa to Yosemite along Merced River Imfrastructure 1872 John Conway builds stage road on north side of Yosemite Valley Imfrastructure 1872 John Conway Completes Four Mile Trail To Glacier Point Imfrastructure 1873 Edgar Mills appointed as a Commissioner for Yosemite Grant (1873- 1880) Administrators & Appointees 1873 Painter Virgil Williams first visits Yosemite Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1873 Landscape painter William Keith (1838-1911) first visits Yosemite and Tuolumne Meadows, in the company of John Muir. Arts, Photography, & Crafts 1873 "Fallen Giant" sequoia falls in Mariposa Grove Natural Events 1873 Last Indian cremation ceremony in Yosemite Valley (under Sentinel Rock) takes place Events of Note 1873 The Cosmopolitan, a Yosemite Valley bath house and saloon, begins its "Grand Register of Yo-Semite Valley", continuing until 1884. Influential Publications 1873 John Erastus Lester, attorney, publishes "The Yo-semite, Its History, its Scenery, its Development" Influential Publications 1873 John Conway Builds trail to Eagle Peak from foot of Yosemite Falls Imfrastructure 1874 04/10/1874 "Arbor Day" is proclaimed and first observed Discoveries & First Events 1874 06/18/1874 Coulterville (Big Oak Flat) Road (J. T. McLean's Road) a steep wagon road to Yosemite Valley opens; McLean's are first visitors to Yosemite Valley on wheels. Dan Newhall was director of the Yosemite Turnpike Road Company. Imfrastructure 1874 12/26/1874 Washburn, Coffman and Chapman bought hotel, blacksmith shop, sawmill and open bridge from Clark & Moore and rename it "Big Trees Station" Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1874 xx/xx/1874 Commissioners granted an official concession to James McCauley to build a proper hotel atop Glacier Point. That hotel was the Glacier Point Mountain House constructed of the wood of nearby trees. Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements 1874 Peregoy's Mountain View House atop Glacier Point closes. Imfrastructure 1874 Mirror Lake's Lake House converted to a dancing cotillion and boathouse by a Captain William Howard, an original member of Mariposa Battalion Imfrastructure 1874 California purchases Yosemite Valley homesteader claims Legislation, Contracts & Legal Agreements Version: 2019/06/06 of (c) 2019 Tom Arfsten All rights Reserve11 YOSEMITE TIMELINE MASTER.xlsx Yosemite Timeline By Yea