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Yosemite Online Library—History
The following historical Yosemite books
are available online, with the complete text
and usually the original illustrations.
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Search Yosemite books on http://www.yosemite.ca.us/
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See also Native Americans (Yosemite Indians)
and
Park Creation and Management
- Abrams Diary”
(1947).
Describes William Abrams’
discovery of Yosemite Valley in October 1849
by Weldon F. Heald.
-
Discovery of the Yosemite and the Indian War of 1851,
Which Led to That Event,
(1892)
by Lafayette Houghton Bunnell, M.D.
- The Last of the California Rangers
(1928)
by Jill L. Cossley-Batt.
Biography of William Howard, including information on the California State Rangers, Mariposa Battalion, discovery of Yosemite, and Joaquin Murieta.
-
Reports from Lt. Tredwell Moore to the Pacific Division on the Mariposa Indian War of 1852
(unpublished letters, 1852)
- Early History of Yosemite Valley California
(1919)
by Ralph S. Kuykendall
- “California for Waterfalls!,”
San Francisco Daily California Chronicle (August 18, 1855),
by James M. Hutchings.
Contains an account of the first or second tourist party to Yosemite Valley
- “Discovery of the Nevada Fall”
Overland Monthly
(1884).
account of an early tourist party in 1855
by James H. Lawrence
- “The Yo Semity Valley,”
Mariposa Gazette October 11, 1855
and
Stockton San Joaquin Republican October 16, 1855.
Contains an account of an early tourist party to Yosemite Valley
- “A Trip to the Yosemite Falls,”
Mariposa Democrat, August 5, 1856,
probably by Warren Baer.
First extensive description of Yosemite Valley.
-
“The Yo-hem-i-ty Valley and Falls,”
The Country Gentleman,, October 8, 1856.
First article published on the east coast on Yosemite.
-
Hutchings’ Illustrated California Magazine
(1856-1861).
Features stories about California, including Yosemite Valley,
Giant Sequoias, and the Sierra Nevada.
- “A Trip to the Yohamite Valley,”
San Francisco Daily Alta California, August 6, 1859,
by Thomas A. Ayres
-
The Ralston-Fry Wedding and the Wedding Journey to
Yosemite May 20, 1858
From the Diary of Miss Sarah Haight [Mrs. Edward Tompkins]
(1961)
by Sarah Haight.
Edited by Francis P. Farquhar, 1887-1974
- “The Yohamite Falls, California,” Ballou’s Pictorial Drawing-room Companion, (May 21, 1859)
- “The Great Yo-Semite Valley,”
Hutchings’ California Magazine, Oct. 1859
by James M. Hutchings.
First account of Yosemite Valley with illustrations
-
An Overland Journey from New York to San Francisco in the Summer of 1859
(1860).
by Horace Greeley
First account of Yosemite to be widely distributed on the east coast
-
Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California
(1862)
by James M. Hutchings.
First travel guide for Yosemite Valley.
-
A Vacation among the Sierras: Yosemite in 1860
(1962)
by Thomas Starr King
- The Yosemite Valley, and the Mammoth Trees and Geysers of California
(Nelons’ Pictorial Guide-books) (c.1870)
-
Up and Down California in 1860-1864; The Journal of William H. Brewer
,
(1930)
by William H. Brewer
- “Yosemite: The Story of an Idea”
(1948)
by Hans Huth
-
Yosemite: Its Wonders and Its Beauties
(1868)
by John S. Hittell
- “Does it Pay to Visit Yo Semite?,”
The Galaxy
(1870)
by Olive Logan
-
The Wonders of the Yosemite Valley, and of California
With original photographic illustrations, by John P. Soule.
(1871)
by Samuel Kneeland
-
A Familiar Letter from a Daughter to Her Mother
(1871)
by Alice Ives Van Schaack
- Zanita: A Tale of the Yo-semite
(1872)
by Thérèse Yelverton.
Fictional novel about Yosemite, including gimpses of a young John Muir
- The Yo-semite, Its History, its Scenery, its Development (1873)
by John Erastus Lester
- The Atlantic to the Pacific: What to See and How to See it (1873)
by John Erastus Lester
-
Two Weeks in the Yosemite and Vicinity
(1873, 1883)
by Rev. J. M. Buckley, D. D.
- Over the Purple Hills or Sketches of travel in California, embracing all the important points usually visited by tourists
(1876)
by Caroline M. Nichols Churchill.
(American Memory, Library of Congress).
- Bits of Travel at Home
(1878)
by Helen Hunt Jackson.
Includes a travel account to California by railroad and to Yosemite.
- Granite Crags
(1884)
by Lady Constance F. Gordon-Cumming
-
In the
Heart of the Sierras;
the
Yo Semite Valley,
both historical and descriptive:
and Scenes by the Way.
Big Tree Groves.
The High Sierra, . . .,
(1888)
by James Mason Hutchings
- The Tioga Road; a History 1883-1961
(1961, rev. 1980)
by Keith A. Trexler.
-
Yosemite: Where to Go and What to Do (1888)
by George G. MacKenzie
- Invisible Men: Buffalo Soldiers of the Sierra Nevada
Shelton Johnson, Ranger Naturalist
(cira 2003)
by Shelton Johnson.
Story of Black Cavalry troopers patrolling Yosemite.
For background information, see
“Buffalo Soldiers Story.”
- Early Days in Yosemite
(1964).
by Galen Clark.
Originally published as “A Plea for Yosemite” in 1927
from a manuscript written c. 1907.
“Yosemite: Past and Present,”
Sunset
(April 1909)
by Galen Clark
- The Yosemite Valley,
by Galen Clark
(1910)
- “On Foot in the Yosemite,” Atlantic Monthly (1910)
by Bradford Torrey
- Yosemite Trails: Camp and Pack-Train in the Yosemite Region of the Sierra Nevada
(1911)
by J. Smeaton Chase.
Early account of Yosemite backcountry
-
The Yosemite,
(1912)
by John Muir
-
Guide to Yosemite: a handbook of the trails and roads of Yosemite valley and the adjacent region
(1920)
by Ansel F. Hall
[in preparation]
-
Handbook of Yosemite National Park
(1922)
by Ansel F. Hall
-
“Exploration of the Sierra Nevada”
(1925)
by Francis P. Farquhar
-
Place Names of the High Sierra
(1926)
by Francis P. Farquhar
-
“Early Years in Yosemite” (1926)
by Carl P. Russell
- Lights and Shadows of Yosemite
(1926)
by Katherine Ames Taylor.
Yosemite history and narrative, with photographs by several photographers, including an early one by Ansel Adams
- Yosemite Tales and Trails
(1934)
by Katherine Ames Taylor.
Yosemite history and narrative, with photographs by Ansel Adams.
- Yosemite Indians and Other Sketches
(1936)
by Mrs. H. J. (Rose Schuster) Taylor.
Biographical sketches of early pioneers and artists and Yosemite Indians.
- Call of Gold: True Tales on the Gold Road to Yosemite
(1936)
by Newell D. Chamberlain
-
Yosemite Sentinel
(1941-).
Newsletter of the park concessionaire, Yosemite Park and Curry Company.
-
One Hundred Years in Yosemite;
The Story of a Great Park and Its Friends
2d. ed.
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1947),
by Carl Parcher Russell.
- A Guide to the Mother Lode Country
(1948)
by C. Frank Brockman
- “Yosemite’s Pioneer Cabins”
(1951)
by Robert F. Uhte
- The Big Oak Flat Road
(1955)
by Irene D. Paden and Margaret E. Schlichtmann
- Yosemite Valley Place Names (1955) by Richard J. Hartesveldt
- “Yosemite and Tamalpais,” Names
(1955).
by Madison S. Beeler.
This article discusses the
origin of the word Yosemite.
- “Guide to the Pioneer Cemetery,” 38(5):58-74 by Lloyd W. Brubaker, Laurence V. Degnan, and Richard R. Jackson (1959). Yosemite Valley Pioneer Cemetery located next to the Visitor Center
- Self-guiding Auto Tour of Yosemite National Park (1956)
by Richard P. Ditton and Donald E. McHenry
-
Ghost Mines of Yosemite
(1958)
by Douglass H. Hubbard
-
Guardians of the Yosemite
(1961)
by John W. Bingaman
-
The Old Stagedriver’s Yosemite Yarns
(1962)
by Laurence Degnan and Douglass Hubbard
- Wawona’s Yesterdays
(1961)
by Shirley Sargent
- Pathways: A Story of Trails and Men
(1968)
by John W. Bingaman
-
“The Wawona Hotel and Thomas Hill Studio,”
Architecture in the Parks
(1986)
by Laura E. (Soullière) Harrison (NPS)
-
Yosemite: The Park and Its Resources (1987)
by Linda Wedel Greene.
This Historic Resource Study is a detailed technical reference
on historical park resources, with an extensive bibliography
-
Pioneer Yosemite History Center Online Tour
Historical Yosemite buildings relocated in Wawona.
Copyright © 2004-2007 Dan Anderson. All rights reserved.
Last updated
19 June 2018.
If you have questions or comments,
please send a message to
Dan Anderson.
http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/history.html