Mariposa Grove: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service
Historical Research Associates, Inc.. 2003. Mariposa Grove: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 725297. NPS Pacific West Regional Office. Pacific West Regional Office/CLI Database
The Mariposa Grove landscape consists of an area of approximately four square miles, located on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The grove is located approximately two miles from the South Entrance Station of the Park. The landscape can be classified as a historic district (originally established for its natural resource and recreational values), and a historic designed landscape. The period of significance for this property spans the period between the original withdrawal of the land from the public domaine in 1864, through the end of the historic period as defined by the National Register (approximately 1950). The landscape is in fair condition and, with a few exceptions, retains historical integrity. The most important landscape characteristics associated with the grove include the natural systems and features of the district, the site-specific ecology of which continues to sustain the stand of giant sequoias--the vegetation features which captured the attention of Euroamericans in the 1850s. Superimposed upon the natural landscape is a system of transportation (circulation) features and buildings and structures, which collectively, are representative of park service landscape design of the 1930s. The Mariposa Grove is nationally significant under criterion A for its association with the “Conservation” and “Recreation” areas of significance. Along with the valley portion of the 1864 state grant, this grove of giant sequoias represents the first public land to be permanently set aside by Congress for the preservation of its natural scenic values. From 1864 to the present, the various managers of the grove, the State of California, the U.S. Army (at the behest of the Secretary of the Interior), and finally, the National Park Service, have striven to maintain the integrity of the grove’s ecosystem, and the preservation of the “big trees,” for which it was established. The grove embodies the birth of the American ideal that the best use of lands distinguished for their great scenic beauty is preservation; furthermore, that the best choice an enlightened federal government can make is to reserve such lands for all time for the enjoyment of the people.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Historical Research Associates, Inc.
- Date of Issue
- 2003-02-03
- Publisher
- NPS Pacific West Regional Office
- Units
- PWR , YOSE
- Keywords
- Architecture, Comfort Station, Commerce, Concession, Conservation, Conservation of Natural resources, Entertainment, Forest, Formation of the Conservation Movement, Historic Designed Landscape, historic site, Landscape architecture, Log Construction, Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, Museum, Naturalistic Landscape Design, Recreation, Rustice Style, Scenic Landscape, Sequoia trees, Southern Sierra Miwok, trade, Wawona Point
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 725297: Mariposa Grove