Camp Yosemite

Camp Yosemite (1871-1913) - A seasonal U.S. Army Camp established as Camp near Wawona or Detachment at Yosemite National Park in 1871 by Captain Abram E. Wood, 4th U.S. Cavalry. The camp was established in Yosemite National Park, Madera County, California, to protect the park. Renamed Camp A.E. Wood in 1901 after the first park superintendant, Captain Wood. Renamed Camp Yosemite in May 1907. Discontinued in 1916.

Camp Yosemite History

Established by Captain Abram E. Wood, 4th U.S. Cavalry in 1871 to protect the national park from visitors and ranchers grazing cattle and sheep. The U.S. Army involvement included the administration of the park and the commanding officer of the Camp also functioned as the Park Superintendent. The army provided small detachments at outlying points to assist and control visitors and trespassers. Over the years the U.S. Army also built an infrastructure of camps, roads and trails to support the increasing numbers of visitors and their own operations. Eventually the camp came to be a semipermanent facility and the Army even installed waste treatment facilities to prevent disease and pollution. The U.S. Army presence in the park was from May through October each year and in their absence a limited number of civilian rangers patrolled the park.

Access to the park from the south was controlled through a check point established at a stagecoach change station that came to be known as Fort Monroe, named for one of the stagecoach drivers. This was not a military post although the checkpoint appears to have been manned by the soldiers from Camp Yosemite.

The seasonal military garrison usually arrived at Yosemite in the first part of May and departed Yosemite at the end of October. The method of travel was usually by march, covering some 20 to 30 miles a day with stops at towns and local ranches along the route. The 1912 march to Yosemite was the last one documented in the post returns and included the following detail:

Troops C & D, 1st U.S. Cavalry left the Presidio of San Francisco at 2:00 a.m. April 22, 1912:

1912 March from the Presidio of San Francisco to Camp Yosemite

22 Apr 1912 San Mateo - 22 Miles 23 Apr 1912 Santa Clara - 27 Miles 24 Apr 1912 Marane Hill - 22 Miles 25 Apr 1912 Wilson's Ranch - 19 Miles 26 Apr 1912 San Luis Ranch - 29 Miles 27 Apr 1912 Los Banos - 14 Miles 28 Apr 1912 Dos Palos Ranch - 20 Miles

29 Apr 1912 New Columbia Ranch - 14 Miles 30 Apr 1912 Madera - 20 Miles 2 May 1912 Raymond - 23 Miles 3 May 1912 Ahwahnee - 22 Miles 4 May 1912 Wawona - 22 Miles 5 May 1912 Camp Yosemite - 26 Miles

They marched a total of 280 miles to Camp Yosemite arriving 5 May 1912. The garrison departed the post at the end of October 1912 and returned to the Presidio.

The Camp Yosemite garrison departed the camp for the last time 10 Jul 1913 per Special Order 173 and the operation was turned over to a civilian manager, Gabriel Sovulewski, and five full time rangers.

Current Status

Yosemite National Park near Wawona, Madera County, California.

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Location: Yosemite National Park near Wawona, Madera County, California. Maps & Images Lat: 37.5390137 Long: -119.6557528 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: hhhhh'

Sources:

• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 100
• Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 38

Links:

• North American Camps - Camp Yosemite
• California Military Museum - Camp Yosemite
• California Military Museum - Yosemite: The Cavalry Years

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