Title
The Creation of Yosemite National Park, Letters of John Muir to Robert Underwood Johnson.
Files
Kimes Entry Number
393
Original Date
10-1-1944
Publication
Sierra Club Bulletin, v. 29, no. 5
Page/Column
pp. 49-60
Recommended Citation
Muir, John, "The Creation of Yosemite National Park, Letters of John Muir to Robert Underwood Johnson." (1944). John Muir: A Reading Bibliography by Kimes, 1986 (Muir articles 1866-1986). 465.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmb/465
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William and Maymie Kimes Annotation
In the summer of 1889, Muir accompanied Johnson into Yosemite Valley and then to Tuolumne Meadows and the upper Tuolumne Canyon. Johnson was appalled at the severe damage to the area caused by sheep, and was convinced that some action should be taken immediately. By a campfire one evening near Soda Springs, the two men conspired to create a large national park to surround Yosemite Valley. Muir agreed to write two articles for The Century Magazine setting forth the need for the park, and the area to be included (no. 181, no. 182). Johnson, who was well-known in congressional circles, was to work for appropriate legislation. The uniting efforts of the two men brought the Yosemite National Park into being on October 1, 1890. The six lengthy letters in this article, published in their entirety for the first time, comprise the correspondence from Muir to Johnson concerning the magazine articles, their illustrations, and the involved politics of their plan to create a national park.