82 



YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



General view of Wawona and Wawona Hotel 



Creek to Yosemite Valley for a sum of 

 $10,000. The work was started Decem- 

 ber 4, 1874, with 50 men and at times 

 the crew numbered 300. By April 18, 

 1875 a road had been completed to near 

 the present Camp Curry. (Read also 

 V-37, page 78.) 



W WAWONA. Wawona, which in 

 I | the Indian tongue meant 'big 

 tree," was first a camp on the 

 Mann Brothers trail through the high 

 Sierra. Later Galen Clark, Yosemite 

 Grant's first guardian, acquired the Wa- 

 wona area, built a cabin and it became 

 known as Clark's Ranch. Clark enlarged 

 the building to accommodate travelers 

 and it became an important stopping 

 place for early Yosemite visitors. In 

 1890 a law was enacted setting aside a 

 part of the Wawona area as reserved 

 forest lands. Capt. A. E. Wood became 

 the first superintendent of the area in 

 1891. With detachments from the 



Fourth Cavalry he made a determined 

 effort for many years to keep sheep 

 and cattle grazers and poachers out of 

 the park. 



In 1875 the Washburn Brothers pur- 

 chased the Clark ranch and over a per- 

 iod of years built most of the buildings 

 known as the Wawona Hotel. Following 

 purchase by the U. S. Government in 

 1932, the Yosemite Park and Curry Co. 

 assumed, under contract, management 

 of the hotel at Wawona. 



W SOUTH ENTRANCE. Here at the 

 1^ southern gateway to the park, form- 

 erly known as "Four Mile," is one of 

 the four entrance stations where control 

 of travel in and out of Yosemite is main- 

 tained by National Park Service rang- 

 ers. A short distance from this station 

 is the south boundary of Yosemite Na- 

 tional Park which adjoins Sierra Na- 



