Mariposa Grove was one of the first federally protected tracts of land in the world. In 1864 Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant, which deeded the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees to the state of California for protection as a forest reserve. Due to concern over damage from livestock and logging, John Muir led a movement to establish a larger national park that encompassed the surrounding mountains and forests. However, when Yosemite National Park was established on October 1, 1890, it excluded the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove. In 1903 Muir took President Theodore Roosevelt on a three-day camping trip near Glacier Point. During the trip Muir convinced Roosevelt to take control of the valley and the grove away from California. Finally, on June 11, 1906, Roosevelt signed a bill that would merge the Yosemite Valley and
Mariposa Grove with Yosemite National Park.
Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies
