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Sequoia National Park was founded as a national park in the United States on this day in history, September 25, 1890.
The park was created through legislation signed by President Benjamin Harrison, as the National Park Service (NPS) notes.
Sequoia National Park was established explicitly to protect a living organism: Sequoiadendron giganteum, or the “giant sequoia” tree.
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Just a week after Sequoia National Park was created, it was expanded – again through legislation signed by President Harrison.
For the first 23 years of Sequoia National Park’s existence, before the creation of the National Park Service (NPS) in 1916, the area was patrolled by the U.S. Army’s Calvary forces and administered by the Army, according to the NPS website.
Tourists under giant sequoia trees in Sequoia National Park near Three Rivers, California. The park was established by act of Congress on September 25, 1890. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In 1914, the park’s first civilian manager, Walter Fry, was appointed.
Initially, it was extremely difficult to reach Sequoia National Park because “little more than a road” served as an access route, according to the NPS.
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“Under the leadership of then-Captain Charles Young, the only black officer in the U.S. Army at the time, a road to the Giant Forest was completed in August 1903,” they said.
This meant that for the first time cars could reach the park.
Captain Charles Young (front row, center, in dark shirt), the superintendent of the Sequoia and General Grant National Parks, poses for a portrait with the road construction crew in 1903 in California’s Sequoia National Park. Young was the only black commissioned officer in the U.S. Army at the time. (National Park Service/Getty Images)
After the advent of wagons, cars weren’t far behind, the National Park Service notes.
“The growing popularity of car travel led to the construction of the Generals Highway in 1926, opening the Giant Forest to more visitors,” they said.
As the number of visitors continued to grow, the National Park Service began working on facilities for those who would make the trek to California.
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“One of the first projects the New National Park Service undertook in 1917 was the construction of the first steps to the top of Moro Rock, a favorite destination,” according to the National Park Service.
“Those first wooden steps to the top of Moro Rock must have been a thrill for many early park visitors,” NPS added.
Today, about a third of naturally growing sequoia trees are in Sequoia National Park and adjacent Kings Canyon National Park. (Marji Lang/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In March 1940, Kings Canyon National Park, which borders Sequoia National Park, was established.
The area used to be known as ‘General Grant National Park’.
Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Park have been jointly managed since World War II, the National Park Service says.
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True to Sequoia National Park’s original mission, today the two parks contain approximately one-third of all naturally growing sequoia trees.
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As of 2022, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks will receive approximately 1.5 million visitors annually.
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Christine Rousselle is a lifestyle reporter at Fox News Digital.
