About Yosemite National Park
While managing the nearby Mariposa Estate gold-mines from 1863-1865, Frederick Law Olmsted first visited the Yosemite Valley with his family in 1864. Taken by the beauty and ‘peculiar character’ of the scenery, Olmsted was passionate about protecting the land in perpetuity and safeguarding public access. When the land was handed over to the state of California in the same year, Olmsted was appointed the head of the Yosemite Commission. Continuing in his father’s footsteps, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. was hired 43 years later to make revisions and improvements to the now National Park. The Olmsted Brothers firm was involved in the project from 1907-1940.
FLO Jr., unsatisfied with the lack of organization in the management of the park system, helped pass the National Park Service Act of 1916. Reiterating his fathers ideals, he memorably stated their purpose was “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” FLO Jr.’s 1930s plans detail his designs for plantings and approach ways to the Ahwannee and Glacier Point Hotels, and the construction of new lodgings, roads, and trails. (Also see jobs 08204, 12301)
Please note there are 23 folders of correspondence in the Western Office Correspondence collection at the Olmsted Archives, dating from 1920-1956.
About Yosemite National Park
When Olmsted wrote “Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove” in 1865, he foresaw growing visitation and expressed concern about what would happen to the area if it weren’t properly managed.
Olmsted visited the Mariposa Grove in 1863 when serving as the head of the neighboring Mariposa Mine. He was struck by the massive Sequoia trees, calling them “distinguished strangers, who have come down to us from another world.” Taken by the beauty and “peculiar character” of the scenery, Olmsted was passionate about protecting the land in perpetuity and safeguarding public access.
On June 30, 1864 — in the midst of the Civil War — President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Valley Grant Act “authorizing a grant to the State of California of the Yo-Semite Valley, and of the land embracing the Mariposa Big Tree Grove.” This legislation protected Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias “for public use, resort and recreation.” Under this law, scenic natural areas were set aside and protected for the benefit of future generations for the first time in the history of our nation. Frederick Law Olmsted was appointed to head a commission, offering advice on managing the park.
In the resulting 1865 report, which called for scenic reservations and offered management recommendations, Olmsted foresaw that “the slight harm which the few hundred visitors of this year [1865] might do, if no care were taken to prevent it, would not be slight, if it should be repeated by millions.”
Ultimately, Olmsted helped lay the groundwork for the protection of Yosemite. Continuing in his father’s footsteps, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. was hired 43 years later to make revisions and improvements to the now National Park. FLO Jr., unsatisfied with the lack of organization in the management of the park system, helped pass the National Park Service Act of 1916. In recent years, restoration work has been done to ensure both the Big Tree Grove and Yosemite’s beautiful landscape can live on for generations.
Today, visitors can celebrate the Olmsteds’ contributions to Yosemite National Park at Olmsted Point, a scenic vista overlook on Tioga Road that was named in honor of father and son’s contributions. Tioga Road is open seasonally, so please check the National Park Service website for current status.
