1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:04,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy D. Wilson, and we 4 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:22,080 Speaker 1: are entering into part two of our two part episode 5 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,119 Speaker 1: on Yosemite and James Hutchings. And in part one of 6 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: this we talked about the park a little bit, at 7 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: the Park of Yosemite as we know it today. We 8 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 1: also talked about its history in terms of when white 9 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 1: men first saw it and how James Hutchings started to 10 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: really build an identity in a life completely around promoting 11 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: this piece of land. And we're going to jump right 12 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: in on this second part uh in in the continuity 13 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: of the story, So we highly recommend that you listen 14 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: to part one first or you might be a little 15 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 1: bit confused. You will not have context for what we 16 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: were talking about. So, and in addition to the periodical 17 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: that we talked about last time, Hutchings also wrote the 18 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: books Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California Tourists Guide 19 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: to the Yosemite Valley, which published in eighteen sixty two, 20 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: and then later In the Heart of the Sierras, which 21 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: was published in As with his magazine. These books features 22 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:21,959 Speaker 1: some really fantastic illustrations, and one of the things that's 23 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: uh quite fun about Hutching's writing is that he really 24 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: was not shy about writing about how affecting this landscape 25 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:33,559 Speaker 1: could be. So in scenes of wondering curiosity, he wrote 26 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,399 Speaker 1: the following about the feeling that one would get at 27 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:38,040 Speaker 1: the end of the day, At the end of a 28 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: day spent in Yosemite, and he says, quote, as we 29 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: sit in the stillness and twilight of evening, thinking over 30 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: and conversing about the wondrous scenes our eyes have looked 31 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: upon this day, or listen in silence to the deep 32 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 1: music of the distant waterfalls, our hearts seemed to be 33 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 1: full too, overflowing with a sense of the grandeur, wildness, beauty, 34 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: and profoundness to be felt and enjoy when communing with 35 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: the glorious works of nature. In the opening of In 36 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 1: the Heart of the Sierra's, Hutchings bars quotes from a 37 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: wide range of people about Yosemite to establish the case 38 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: that it's truly a marvel. Everyone from geologists to Ralph 39 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: Waldo Emerson weighs in on these introductory pages. They all 40 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: praise the astonishing nature of the beauty that can be 41 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: found there. The book then goes on to relate the 42 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: history of Yosemite and how it was quote discovered by 43 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,800 Speaker 1: white men, how the gold rush planted the seed of 44 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,919 Speaker 1: resentment with the native population, and how the Mariposta War began, 45 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:40,960 Speaker 1: and Uh, you'll remember James Savage, who was the man 46 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: that led the Mariposa Battalion. Uh, and Hutchings writing about 47 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: him is really interesting indeed, because according to the Hutchings account, 48 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: Savage took wives yes that was plural, with an s 49 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: at the end, from the Native Americans in the hopes 50 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: that doing so would prevent attacks on his home and business. 51 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: And also, in the Hutching version, one of Savage's squaws 52 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: as they are called in this in this book, told 53 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: him ahead of time that an attack on the mining 54 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: town was being planned by a group of Native American men. 55 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: A few years into their marriage, in eighteen sixty four, 56 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: James and Alvira purchased the Upper Hotel for four hundred dollars. 57 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:22,359 Speaker 1: Hutchings had been hoping to do this for a long 58 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 1: time beforehand because of issues that the hotel had had 59 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: from the beginning, but it took him a little while 60 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: to get the finances together to actually buy it. The 61 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 1: existing hotel was still pretty utilitarian at best, and when 62 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: we talked last time about how it's basically a frame 63 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: with some sheets, but permanent. But James and Elvirus bruced 64 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: it up a bit and opened it as the Hutchings House, 65 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: and James would later write of the hotel's issues and 66 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 1: his eventual acquisition of it, also in the Heart of 67 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: the Sierras, and in that he wrote quote owing to 68 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: a heavy indebtedness incurred in building the hotel and the 69 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 1: lack of success attending the first Fourth of July party 70 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 1: given for which extensive preparations had been made and from 71 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 1: which much had been expected, Its projectors and builders, unable 72 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: to meet their obligations, assigned it to creditors for their protection. 73 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: The following two years, it was least to Mr Charles Peck, 74 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: then to Mr p. Longhurst, after which it was either 75 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: let temporarily or remained closed until purchased by the writer 76 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty four. The couple eventually added on to 77 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: the existing structure, including a large common room known as 78 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 1: the Big Tree Room, so named because it had been 79 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:34,920 Speaker 1: constructed around a cedar tree that was a hundred and 80 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: seventy five ft or fifty three meters tall. This had 81 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: started with as a sitting room with a dirt floor, 82 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: but it was later improved and floored and became this 83 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,720 Speaker 1: dining room for people before it was eventually made into 84 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: a parlor. Yeah, there are some fantastic pictures of James 85 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 1: and Elvira sitting in this room and there on either 86 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: side of the tree trunk, and it's massive, so they 87 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 1: may as well sort of be very far apart in 88 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: different places. Um, But you can find pictures of those 89 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: online and we'll try to link some of the show notes. 90 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: The same year that the Hutchings purchased that hotel, they 91 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,360 Speaker 1: also had their first child, Florence Hutchings. She would later 92 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: go by Flow, sometimes Floyd and even Flora, and Florence 93 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: was the first white child born in Yosemite on August 94 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty four, and Flow love the outdoors. She was 95 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: quite a tomboy, and she often complained that she had 96 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:31,160 Speaker 1: not been born a boy. While initially the whole family 97 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,719 Speaker 1: was involved in running the hotel, eventually it was Elvira's mother, 98 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,360 Speaker 1: flor Antha T. Sprote, who really kept things running as 99 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: James was really busy working to be basically the ambassador 100 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: of Yosemite, and Alvira immersed herself and her interests in 101 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: music and botany. Since Florentha had experience running a boarding house, 102 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: running a lodge came pretty naturally to her. It was 103 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: basically an extension of what she was already used to doing. Yeah, 104 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: if you'll recall from the first episode, it was it 105 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: was at her boarding house that James actually met Elvira, 106 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: so she had been doing that in San Francisco for 107 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: quite a time before they were at Yosemite, and from 108 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: the beginning of the hotel's life as Hutchings House there 109 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:15,840 Speaker 1: were once again serious financial and legal problems. On June 110 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty four, President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of 111 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: Congress that transferred ownership of Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa 112 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 1: Grove of Giant Sequoias to the state of California. That 113 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,039 Speaker 1: transfer was a land grant to the state that was 114 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 1: not to be settled, which meant that the property that 115 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:35,839 Speaker 1: the Hutchings had purchased just two months before this was 116 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: not considered a legal claim. That had all come about 117 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:44,159 Speaker 1: because California Senator John Conniss had introduced the land grant 118 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 1: to Congress with the goal of conserving the land. He 119 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:50,599 Speaker 1: and like minded thinkers of the day didn't want Yosemite 120 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: to become like Niagara Falls, which had been overrun with 121 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,560 Speaker 1: tourist development. Congress, quite busy at the time with the 122 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:00,520 Speaker 1: Civil War, was rather quick to go forward at the 123 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: Yosemit Grant, probably so they could move on to the 124 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: more pressing business that they had at hand. The fact 125 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: that there were property owners in Yosemite already had not 126 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: really been disclosed by Conness when he was questioned about 127 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 1: this whole land grant, and that lack of disclosure is 128 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: going to play a big part in things coming up. 129 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: But before we get to all of that, let's pause 130 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: really quickly for a brief word from one of our 131 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 1: fantastic sponsors, so to get back into our story. Hutchings 132 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: initially was really pretty excited about the land grant. He 133 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: thought like, Yeah, we're going to preserve this land that 134 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: I love so much. But that was before it was 135 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: made plain to him that his hotel did not fit 136 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 1: into the state legislature's plans. It was seen instead by 137 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: some as a case of the Hutchings wanting to turn 138 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: a profit off of the natural beauty of the valley 139 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 1: rather than as the home base of Yosemite's ambassadors, which 140 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: is how Hutchings saw it. And in addition to the hotel, 141 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: James Hutchings had all so filed a preemption claim on 142 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 1: a large land parcel that up to that point was 143 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: just awaiting a survey team, and the state said that 144 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 1: that was invalid as well. For the next decade, a 145 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: bitter battle played out between Hutchings and the state government. 146 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:17,760 Speaker 1: Initially after the land transfer, the state told James and 147 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: Elvira that they need to sign a lease for the 148 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: hotel since the state owned the land, but Hutchings fought 149 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 1: the state. And Hutchings was not the only person who 150 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 1: had a land claim in Yosemite. Another man, James C. Lemon, 151 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: had built a cabin there as well, and he was 152 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: in the same boat as Hutchings, and he also fought 153 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 1: the state. Lamon had actually helped build the Upper Hotel 154 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:42,560 Speaker 1: when it was initially constructed, and the year after it 155 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 1: was completed, he made a claim on the upper end 156 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 1: of the valley and established a garden in an orchard. 157 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: In addition to constructing a little log cabin there. Both 158 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:54,600 Speaker 1: Hutchings and Lemon were notified by the Board of Yosemite 159 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: Commissioners appointed by the state that they would need to 160 00:08:57,120 --> 00:08:59,880 Speaker 1: lease their property from the state by a given dead 161 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: one or that have to leave, and both men turned 162 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,880 Speaker 1: down those options. And according to Hutchings, when he spoke 163 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 1: with a Senator Pomeroy of Kansas, who served on the 164 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:13,120 Speaker 1: United States Committee of Public Lands, that is, when it 165 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 1: came to light that commis had claimed that the land 166 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,960 Speaker 1: had no settlers, Hutchings felt that this really proved that 167 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,359 Speaker 1: he should have had protected rights as a land claimant. Otherwise, 168 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:28,440 Speaker 1: why would that information have been withheld Throughout all of 169 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 1: this legal wrangling There were, of course, huge gaps in 170 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: terms of anything happening. Committees would recess or other delays 171 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: would come up in the government schedule. And throughout it all, 172 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:42,960 Speaker 1: Hutchings occupied his time by promoting Yosemite, both in writing 173 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:46,199 Speaker 1: and in giving lectures. They claimed to give quote eight 174 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:50,240 Speaker 1: seven illustrated lectures on Yosemite, sometimes to audiences of over 175 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 1: three thousand. He did so, he claimed for three reasons, 176 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 1: to keep himself busy, to make a little money, and 177 00:09:56,840 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 1: to bring more attention to quote the marvelous grandeur of scenery. 178 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: In July eight seventy one, the California Supreme Court issued 179 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,959 Speaker 1: the following ruling in another land claim case. Quote. If 180 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:12,720 Speaker 1: a qualified preemption or enter upon a portion of the 181 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:16,440 Speaker 1: public domain with the intention to preempt the same, and 182 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 1: performs all the acts necessary to perfect his preemptive right, 183 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:24,679 Speaker 1: except the payment of the purchase price, the government may, nevertheless, 184 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 1: at any time before the price is actually paid or tendered, 185 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: devote the land to another purpose, and thereby wholly defeat 186 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: the right of preemption. So basically, they're saying, even if 187 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:39,200 Speaker 1: someone is trying to buy a piece of land. For example, 188 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: James Hutchings claimed uh big land parcel that had not 189 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:47,200 Speaker 1: yet been surveyed, and so that deal was not yet done. 190 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:49,960 Speaker 1: If they were making that claim but they hadn't paid 191 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 1: for it, and the state came in and wanted to 192 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 1: do something else, as long as the money hadn't changed hands, 193 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 1: there was nothing to be done for it. That judgment 194 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,320 Speaker 1: was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, but ruling 195 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 1: was upheld. Hutchings suggests in his writing about all of 196 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:06,560 Speaker 1: this that he that if he had made a land 197 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:10,080 Speaker 1: claim in a less beautiful place, the government never would 198 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: have gone to all this trouble. Yeah, he really felt 199 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: like at the at the end of the day, because 200 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:19,080 Speaker 1: Yosemite was so spectacular, it was of more interest to 201 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:21,560 Speaker 1: the state than if it had been like a park 202 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:24,360 Speaker 1: that was not so filled with wonders. Uh. And in 203 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy four, the state of California finally paid out 204 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:29,960 Speaker 1: a twenty four thousand dollars settlement to the Hutchings for 205 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:34,560 Speaker 1: their land and hotel. Lamon received twelve thousand dollars. And 206 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: as this tale develops in Hutchings writing, he makes it 207 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:40,959 Speaker 1: quite clear that he actually thinks that the state treated 208 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,079 Speaker 1: him relatively well, but that the blame should sit squarely 209 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:47,440 Speaker 1: with Senator John Connis and his deception that started all 210 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:50,760 Speaker 1: of this trouble. The Hutchings family finally left their hotel 211 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 1: behind and moved to San Francisco. Not long after they 212 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: settled in San Francisco, James and Alvira divorced. James, however, 213 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 1: continue to live with Alvira's mother, as did the couple's children, 214 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:07,000 Speaker 1: and four years later James remarried his new wife. Augustus 215 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:11,720 Speaker 1: Sweetland had been their next our neighbor. Yeah, Elvira kind 216 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,120 Speaker 1: of took off to do her own thing. Uh. That's 217 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:18,440 Speaker 1: why James stayed with the family and her and Elvira's mother. Uh. 218 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:21,280 Speaker 1: And during that decade of turmoil that they had been undergoing, 219 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,560 Speaker 1: the Hutchings also became entwined with the life of a 220 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:27,840 Speaker 1: man who also had a long term relationship with Yosemite Valley, 221 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 1: and in many ways he is more famous in that 222 00:12:30,559 --> 00:12:33,440 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty nine, the pair hired a Scotsman named 223 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: John Weir to build and run a sawmill on their property, 224 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 1: and there was tension from the start between the two men. 225 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 1: Each of them felt as though he was the expert 226 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 1: and the spokesperson for Yosemite. And while Hutchings had at 227 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:48,320 Speaker 1: that point two decades of writing on the matter as 228 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 1: his credentials, whereas Weir had only been in the United States, 229 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 1: I think like a year and a half at that point. 230 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 1: People really responded Tom Weir, and that's why he kind 231 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 1: of garnered a great deal of attention. He is in 232 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:06,520 Speaker 1: most of the historical pictures of Yosemite that have people 233 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:08,760 Speaker 1: that I found, like I was hoping to find a 234 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:11,640 Speaker 1: picture of Hutchings or picture of Hutchings in Yosemite for 235 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 1: our podcasts on our website and all that. Nope, he's 236 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:18,720 Speaker 1: never the one in the picture. There are some, but 237 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 1: they're not like the ones that are in always public domain. 238 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,440 Speaker 1: But yeah, we're is is really like the one that 239 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:29,599 Speaker 1: history has eventually made the Yosemite guy. Yeah, and he 240 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,400 Speaker 1: could easily be a podcast subject on his own, probably 241 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 1: will at some point. But one of the things to 242 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: consider about this clash between the two men because their 243 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,599 Speaker 1: fundamental differences and how they approached the subject of Yosemite. 244 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:44,200 Speaker 1: Hutchings saw the beauty of the valley is a thing 245 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: that could be shared, like a shared experience that would 246 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: bring people together. We're sometimes touted as something of a 247 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:55,880 Speaker 1: wilderness apostle, was a lot more about more personal, passionate 248 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,480 Speaker 1: individual connection to the land rather than something to be 249 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 1: shared with a group. Yeah, and that that standpoint was 250 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 1: a little bit more in line with the modern thinking 251 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:09,160 Speaker 1: of the time. So that's why he kind of had 252 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:12,960 Speaker 1: a great appeal to a lot of people. Uh. Yosemite though, 253 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,720 Speaker 1: would once again call Hutchings back. But before we talk 254 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:18,120 Speaker 1: about that, we're gonna pause one more time and have 255 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:29,400 Speaker 1: a word from one of our fantastic sponsors. In eighteen eighty, 256 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 1: James Hutchings returned once again to Yosemite. The administrators of 257 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:37,280 Speaker 1: the Yosemite and Mariposa Grove Land Grant had been removed 258 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:41,360 Speaker 1: from their position by the States eighteen seventy eighteen seventy 259 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:45,800 Speaker 1: nine Constitutional Convention, as had the Guardian of Yosemite, and 260 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:49,200 Speaker 1: James Hutchings was appointed to fill that empty guardian position. 261 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 1: But his time and the job didn't go very well. 262 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:53,800 Speaker 1: He didn't get along with people and he could be 263 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:57,280 Speaker 1: really tactless, so he was let go after four years. Yeah, 264 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 1: he was very direct, he did not hold anything back. Uh, 265 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:05,160 Speaker 1: not the easiest person to get along with, even though 266 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 1: he felt he was very clear headed and just telling 267 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: things like they were. But early on in James Hutchings 268 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:15,000 Speaker 1: time as administrator as Guardian of Yosemite, his daughter Flow 269 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,560 Speaker 1: died there and the young woman was leading a group 270 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 1: of hikers in the area. But what happened to cause 271 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 1: her death has been accounted in pretty wildly different ways, 272 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 1: and John Ware's writing about the incident because she was 273 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:29,360 Speaker 1: friends with him. She had climbed a rock to pick 274 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 1: firms for the group that she was leading. When she 275 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 1: slipped and fell into an adjacent stream and then caught 276 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:36,640 Speaker 1: a chill and became ill and died soon after. But 277 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,120 Speaker 1: other accounts say that she was struck by a boulder 278 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:42,320 Speaker 1: on the ledge trail, but in either case she died 279 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: very young. She was only seventeen when she passed, and 280 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,760 Speaker 1: she was buried in the Yosemite Cemetery, where people still 281 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:51,240 Speaker 1: go and visit her grave site. James Hutchings died in 282 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,080 Speaker 1: two He was in Yosemite at the time on vacation 283 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:57,360 Speaker 1: with his third wife, Emily, when they were involved in 284 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:00,840 Speaker 1: a wagon accident, and like Flow, Ames was buried in 285 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:05,920 Speaker 1: Yosemite Cemetery. In a digitized scan of a copy of 286 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 1: In the Heart of the Sierras that I was looking at, 287 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: I stumbled across this tiny obituary clipping that some owner 288 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,760 Speaker 1: of the book appears to have pasted onto one of 289 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,440 Speaker 1: the early pages, And since it's a clipping, it doesn't 290 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: include the original sourcing. But it's interesting in that it 291 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 1: characterizes Hutchings is really a sort of father to Yosemite tourism. 292 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:32,520 Speaker 1: It reads, discoverer of Yosemite Dead J M's Hutchings, who 293 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:36,560 Speaker 1: found the famous valley, killed there by accident San Francisco, 294 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:42,000 Speaker 1: November two in the year is handwritten in J. M. Hutchings, 295 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:45,880 Speaker 1: who discovered the Yosemite Valley and opened it for tourists, 296 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:49,240 Speaker 1: was killed on Friday night by his team going over 297 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 1: the grade on his way into the famous valley. Mr 298 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:56,160 Speaker 1: Hutchings was nearly ninety years old and until recently spent 299 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: every winter in the Yosemite. He had kept this season 300 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:03,800 Speaker 1: the Calabaris Big Trees Hotel. So this is interesting one 301 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:06,119 Speaker 1: and that it it doesn't get all the facts right. 302 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: He didn't discover Yosemity. But while Hutchings today doesn't really 303 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:15,400 Speaker 1: get recognition as Yosemite's ambassador on the level that John 304 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:18,439 Speaker 1: Weir does, during his lifetime, he was clearly seen that 305 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,440 Speaker 1: way by at least some people, certainly enough to make 306 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:24,640 Speaker 1: his obituary seem like he was the guy everyone associated 307 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:27,960 Speaker 1: with that area. That's for the sake of including a 308 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:31,360 Speaker 1: lovely fine that came up in research below. That pasted 309 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,480 Speaker 1: obituary is handwritten. I remember meeting and talking with Mr 310 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 1: Hutchings in the Yosemite Valley at the time of my 311 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:40,440 Speaker 1: visit in Eine we had just arrived. My conversation with 312 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:43,119 Speaker 1: him was in the Big Tree Room pictured opposite page 313 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:46,280 Speaker 1: three forty nine. Holly couldn't quite make out the signature, 314 00:17:46,359 --> 00:17:49,560 Speaker 1: but it is dated November five, nine two, so it 315 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: seems like it's probably the person who cut out and 316 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 1: pasted that clipping into the book. Yeah, it was just 317 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:57,800 Speaker 1: one of those wonderful things that you kind of stumble 318 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,120 Speaker 1: across in research, and it it gives an interesting piece 319 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,760 Speaker 1: of color to who James Hutchings wash. And as for 320 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:09,359 Speaker 1: hutchings first wife, Elvira, her paintings of Yosemite actually gained 321 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:11,600 Speaker 1: her a certain degree of fame and praise, and she 322 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:15,240 Speaker 1: continued to paint images of the parks incredible landscapes even 323 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: after she and James split, although unfortunately most of her 324 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:20,639 Speaker 1: work was lost in a fire in nineteen o six. 325 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:25,000 Speaker 1: She eventually moved to Vermont to be with her daughter Gertrude, 326 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:29,240 Speaker 1: and she died there in nineteen seventeen. So the Yosemite 327 00:18:29,359 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 1: Land grant to set aside the land and protected from 328 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:34,560 Speaker 1: development was really the first of its kind in the 329 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 1: United States. Yosemite was not the first national park. Remember, 330 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:41,639 Speaker 1: we got into this topic because it seemed like literally 331 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:43,920 Speaker 1: everyone was asking us to talk about the founding of 332 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:48,720 Speaker 1: the National parks. That honor actually goes to Yellowstone, which 333 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:52,480 Speaker 1: was made a National Park in eighteen seventy two. Yosemite 334 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:56,280 Speaker 1: wasn't made a National park until eighteen ninety. The Act 335 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:59,320 Speaker 1: creating the National Park Service was signed by President Woodrow 336 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:03,560 Speaker 1: Wilson on August nineteen sixteen, so much later than there 337 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:08,600 Speaker 1: were actual parks established. Yep uh and Yosemite was made 338 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:14,520 Speaker 1: a UNESCO World Heritage Site in four Today, the Hutchings 339 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:17,280 Speaker 1: house is gone, as is the little village that kind 340 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:20,240 Speaker 1: of grew up in the area. The allowed development actually 341 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:23,000 Speaker 1: moved to another site. The base of the tree from 342 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:25,120 Speaker 1: the Big Tree Room remains, though, and you can drive 343 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:27,439 Speaker 1: right by it. There are also some markers on the 344 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: ground where the corners of the Big Tree Room used 345 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 1: to be, and visitors now have their choice of lodging 346 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,359 Speaker 1: in the park. So not that that one kind of 347 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:39,400 Speaker 1: jankie hotel that needed lots of help, but now there 348 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:42,320 Speaker 1: are some really amazing places to stay there. Uh. The 349 00:19:42,359 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 1: park has eight hotels and four campgrounds, so a far 350 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:49,480 Speaker 1: cry from that two story window lists sheets instead of 351 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:52,280 Speaker 1: walls hotel that the Hutchings bought in eighteen sixty four. 352 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 1: So that is our our little response to the many 353 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,400 Speaker 1: listener requests for a National Park Service episode. So happy 354 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:04,240 Speaker 1: hundred b day National Park Service in We're so glad 355 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 1: you're here. Yeah, it's very very cool. There are actually 356 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:11,959 Speaker 1: lots of National parks that that are related to various 357 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: podcasts that we talk about, uh, that we've done in 358 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 1: the past, Like we we don't always mention them because 359 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:20,359 Speaker 1: there are a lot and if we try to mention 360 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:22,919 Speaker 1: every single site that that goes along with something, it 361 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:25,800 Speaker 1: will be this neverest never ending list of places to visit. 362 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:28,640 Speaker 1: But the National Park Service website has information on so 363 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:32,320 Speaker 1: many places you can visit. Yeah, and for listener mail, 364 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 1: I have a tie in postcard that is from uh 365 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 1: Fort Marion National Monument at St. Augustine, Florida, and it's 366 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,520 Speaker 1: uh the United States Department of the Interior National Park 367 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:44,879 Speaker 1: Service is a cute, cute thing, and it is from 368 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:48,080 Speaker 1: our listener, Alice. She says, Hi, only and Tracy, I'm 369 00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:50,320 Speaker 1: a big fan of the show. I've been listening for 370 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:52,240 Speaker 1: just a few months, but I love learning more every 371 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,000 Speaker 1: day because of you. I'm chaperoning a group of teenage 372 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:58,919 Speaker 1: girl scouts on a travel camp to St. Augustine. Oh, Alice, 373 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,120 Speaker 1: bless you because that takes patients. I would not have Uh. 374 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: The city is deeped in history and celebrated its four 375 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:10,400 Speaker 1: and fiftieth anniversary last year. When we visited the Castillo 376 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:12,760 Speaker 1: de San Marcos, I saw this postcard and I thought 377 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:14,720 Speaker 1: of you definitely worth a visit next time you're in 378 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,679 Speaker 1: the Sunshine State. Thanks for the podcast. Thank you so much, Alice. 379 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:23,400 Speaker 1: You accidentally timed such an absolutely perfect postcard for when 380 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:25,880 Speaker 1: I was prepping this episode, so I appreciate it. And again, 381 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:28,240 Speaker 1: I always say it, but I always want to say it. 382 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 1: I'm so grateful every time someone stops in the middle 383 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,639 Speaker 1: of their vacation and mails us something that's amazing and 384 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:37,639 Speaker 1: kind and it's so thoughtful. If you would like to 385 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:39,840 Speaker 1: reach us, you can do so at History Podcast at 386 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 1: house to Works dot com. We're also at Facebook dot com, 387 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:46,560 Speaker 1: slash missed in History on Twitter at misston History, on Instagram, 388 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:49,720 Speaker 1: at misst in history, on tumbler as missed in History. 389 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:53,359 Speaker 1: We're basically missed in history everywhere on social media. If 390 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 1: you would like to visit our parents site and maybe 391 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:58,320 Speaker 1: do a little more research into the National Park Service, 392 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: you can go there House of Works dot com. Type 393 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 1: in National Park Service in the search bar, you will 394 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,879 Speaker 1: get all kinds of information about the National Park Service. 395 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:08,800 Speaker 1: If you would like to visit Tracy and Me online, 396 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 1: you can do that at Misston history dot com, where 397 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:13,359 Speaker 1: we have every episode of the show that has ever existed, 398 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:15,879 Speaker 1: show notes for every show that Tracy and I have 399 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:19,479 Speaker 1: worked on, and occasionally other little goodies and tidbits. So 400 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:21,879 Speaker 1: we encourage you kind of visit us at Miston history 401 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:28,800 Speaker 1: dot com and House top Works dot com for more 402 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,160 Speaker 1: on this and thousands of other topics. Because it has 403 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: to works dot co