October 1, Yosemite Becomes National Park

All national parks have a birthday, a day when they were officially recognized by congress as a protected area in the United States, and would be governed by the rules set forth under the protection acts in order to forever keep their natural beauty intact for people to observe.  On October 1, 1890 President Benjamin Harrison signed into law a bill that gave Yosemite Valley a National Park status.  In this law, Yosemite National Park is preserved and protected, including more than 1,500 square miles of park area, Tuolumne Meadows, the high country, and Hetch Hetchy. Yosemite Valley and the Giant Sequoias of Mariposa Grove were still under the control of the State of California under the provisions of the Yosemite Grant (which was receded by California on June 11, 1906,) but the combination of the legislation and the existing Yosemite Grant makes up most of what Yosemite National Park as it is known today.  The Yosemite Grant itself is 150 years old, being signed on June 30 1864.

Yosemite National Park is considered one of the most beautiful open spaces in the world, and one of the little known facts is that the Indian Village that once was home to residents of Yosemite was burned by the National Park Service in 1969, after the last residents were moved out.  The natives of the area were inhabitants for thousands of years, but upon being designated as protected land and being given the status of “National Park” the residents were not allowed to stay if they remarried, nor were children allowed to stay if the parental figures died.  Today, Yosemite National Park is enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year, and is cherished as an unspoiled example of the beauty of America.