Tulare County
History
History of Tulare and Kings Counties, California - History by Eugene L. Menefee and Fred A. Dodge - Historic Record Company - Los Angeles, California, 1913
CHAPTER XIII
NATIONAL PARKS
GENERAL GRANT PARK
The General Grant National Park containing 2,560 acres, situated northeasterly from Visalia about sixty miles, was set aside by act of congress in 1886. It contains a fine grove of sequoias of which the largest, named General Grant, has rival claims with the General Sherman tree of the Sequoia National Park to being the largest tree in the world.
There are fine camping sites which are taken advantage of by large numbers of tourists and sightseers during the summer months. The government has treated this park generously, having fenced it, built eight miles of fire break, piped water to the camp grounds, built a ranger's cabin and a building for the post-office, which was established in 1910. Accommodations for tourists are provided by Mrs. Cooksey.
SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK
The Sequoia National Park, containing about 170,000 acres of land, was set aside by the congress of 1890. Within the park are seven large groves of monster sequoias, a score or more of excellent trout streams, glacial lakes, caves, other natural wonders of a varied character and mountain scenery of surpassing beauty.
Its control and management are vested in the Secretary of the Interior, with military assistance in supervision during the summer months. Shortly after the government assumed control, improvement work in the way of rendering its attractions accessible to the public, and facilitating its protection from fire, commenced, and have been carried on ever since.
In the summer of 1900 the Colomy Mill road was repaired and widened, and in 1903 the extension of this road to the forest was completed. New trails to the extent of three hundred and twenty miles have been built, the most important being the "south fork" trail, Quinn's Horse Camp trail, the Black Oaks trail connecting the Sequoia and General Grant parks, Alta meadows trail, seven mile hill trail, Clough's cave, Cold Spring trail.
In 1907 a telephone line connecting Three Rivers with the General Grant forest was built and in 1908 and 1910 Quinn's Horse Camp and Atwell's mill were respectively connected with Three Rivers by telephone.
In addition, five ranger cabins have been built, horse pastures for the use of rangers fenced, and one hundred and twenty-nine miles of streams stocked with trout. In 1904 a herd of elk were introduced in the territory lying along the middle fork of the Kaweah, their egress being prevented by the erection of three and one-half miles of strong, high fence. These have thrived and multiplied. Wild turkeys and pheasants have also been introduced.
A post-office called Ranger was established at Giant Forest in 1907 and in 1911 a commodious post-office building was erected.
A segregation and classification of the land in both the Sequoia and General Grant parks shows: merchantable timber, 92,160 acres; grass land, 5,760 acres ; desert, 4,477 acres; woodland, 62,768 acres.
The first ranger for park duty was appointed in 1900, and the force has since been increased to five as follows : Superintendent, Walter Fry; rangers, C. W. Blossom, stationed at Hockett meadows; John von Gruningen, stationed at Ranger; H. T. Britten, stationed at Quinn's Horse Camp; Milo Decker, stationed at General Grant park.
The number of tourists visiting the park regions has increased annually as year by year the knowledge of the natural beauties and scenic marvels therein became general, and as the facilities for reaching the points of interest and remaining there with comfort have improved. These now number from four to eight thousand.
In 1902 Messrs. Broder and Hopping established a stage and pack train service to the Giant Forest and operated a boarding house there, but gave up the enterprise in 1908.
In 1910 the River Inn Company was formed and established hotels at Three Rivers and at the forest to eater to the tourist trade, also operating a stage line between the two points and maintaining a saddle horse and pack train service to points of interest beyond. This company planned the erection in 1912 of a new hotel at the forest and general extensive improvements in service, but a profitable showing not being made during the two years of operations, the enterprise was abandoned, the property of the company sold, and its activities distributed.
THE SEQUOIA NATIONAL FOREST - ITS HISTORY, ORGANIZATION AND OBJECT.
The Sequoia National Forest includes the greater part of the mountain region of Tulare county. It extends from Poso creek on the south across, and includes the upper Deer creek, Tule river and Kaweah river basins, and is bounded by the Kings river on the north. Kern river and Tyndall creek constitute the east boundary, while a somewhat irregular line following roughly the lower foothill line marks the west.
The forest has an area of 1,220,000 acres, roughly 2,000 square miles, or about five-twelfths of the area of the county. It includes within its borders the Sequoia and General Grant National Parks, but is wholly distinct from them in its administration. The parks are under the Department of the Interior, while the Forest is under the Department of Agriculture.
The first proclamation creating the Sequoia National Forest was made July 1, 1908. It then included a territory extending from Bakersfield on the south to Kings river on the north. By the proclamation of July 1, 1910, all of this territory east of the Kern river and south of Tyndall creek was cut off and made the Kern National Forest. At the same time small patented tracts were eliminated, while other unpatented lands were added.
The Sequoia National Forest as a whole is under the management of the forest supervisor, who is assisted by the deputy forest supervisor, forest assistant and forest clerk. It is divided for administrative purposes into five districts, each in charge of a district ranger, with one or more assistant rangers. During the fire season the force is increased by the addition of several forest guards to each district.
The work carried on by the rangers and guards may be best described under the headings, timber sales, free use, special use, fire patrol and fighting fire, surveys of boundaries and administrative sites, June 11 examinations, grazing, forest planting, improvements and miscellaneous executive duties.
All mature timber on the Forest not needed for seed trees is for sale, either in small quantities or large. You can buy shake, post or picket timber up to $50 in value directly from the district ranger, or if you want more than this amount the supervisor will negotiate the sale. A long term saw timber contract is usually made by the district forester through the supervisor.
The Forest Service recognizes a certain right of the home builder residing in and near the Forest to the use of its natural resources, and it encourages and aids him in the development of his home by giving him free of charge post, picket or shake timber, or fuel up to a value of $20 annually. Each district ranger usually has his free use area staked out, and the trees to be given away are blazed and stamped "U. S." An applicant is then given a free use permit for the quantity of timber desired under the limit above mentioned and is directed to the marked area.
If you wish to enclose a pasture, build a corral, a residence, a shop, a ditch or a road on National Forest land you apply for a special use permit. If the use is found to be feasible and not likely to become detrimental to the interests of the Forest a permit for the use of the land involved will be granted. A charge may or may not be made for this permit, depending upon the nature of the use contemplated.
Fire fighting is the great bug bear of the forest officer. He is on the qui vive from about June 1, when the grass begins to turn brown and the underbrush to crackle dryly under his feet, until late September or October brings the first welcome rains. During this trying season he ever strains his eyes for fire, sniffs the breeze for smoke and listens anxiously for rumors of fire within the borders of the forest. Even his slumbers are disturbed by visions of the haunting demon.
He is well prepared, however, to cope with it when the fire does break out. The areas of greatest fire danger are swept by the watchful eyes of the lookouts, who are usually equipped with field glass, sight compass and contour map fastened upon a table properly oriented, so that a bearing may be taken upon the point where smoke is sighted, telephoned to the next lookout, who likewise takes a bearing upon the fire from his view point. Thus data are obtained which enable the lookouts to locate the fire accurately and report it to the ranger in whose district it is. Fire tool boxes are placed at convenient points throughout the district, and, where needed, caches of food. The district ranger is thus enabled to call up the nearest forest guard, per diem guard, state fire warden or citizen and start tools, provision and men to the fire within a few minutes after he receives the alarm.
When the reserves were first established no provision was made for the utilization by homesteaders of the available agricultural land. This was for the time being virtually locked up. However, this defect was remedied by the Act of June 11, 1906. Under this act a person qualified to make homestead entry may make application to the district forester for any tract of vacant land within the forest which he believes to be agricultural in character. A careful field examination will then be made by the ranger in charge of the district, and if the land is found to be chiefly valuable for agriculture and not needed for public purposes it will be listed as such, and thus restored to entry. Many such tracts have been and are being listed and reopened to entry.
Grazing is one of the most important branches of the forest officer's work, and occupies a large portion of his time. 10,000 head of cattle are yearly pastured upon the Sequoia, while at the same time tourist pastures and reserves are being maintained from which all cattle are excluded.
Considerable areas have already been planted to big tree, yellow pine and sugar pine seed, while experimental plots have been planted at various places throughout the Forest with a view to determining the method of tree propagation best adapted to this region. This branch, however, is still in the early stages of its development.
Since the creation of the Sequoia two hundred and ninety-eight miles of new trail have been built at a cost of $22,392; two hundred and seventy-two miles of telephone lines costing $10,880; eight bridges at a cost of $2,000; three and seventy-five-hundredths miles of road. $750; besides numerous tourist pastures, drift fences and corrals for the proper handling of stock. Each district ranger has his house, barn and other buildings at his winter headquarters in the low country, as well as a cabin at his summer headquarters in the high mountains.
Unlike the National Parks the National Forest imposes no unusual restrictions upon fishing and hunting within its borders. Only the just laws established by the state of California for the regulation of these sports obtain here: As every statutory ranger is a state deputy game and fish commissioner, it is his duty to enforce these laws, and he usually does his duty.—G. W. Purdy.
MOUNTAIN TRAILS
The first trail across the Sierra Nevada mountains within the limits of what now constitutes Tulare county was partially constructed in 1861 by John Jordan. It took its origin in the Yokohl valley, crossed the Blue ridge, wound around by Peck's canyon through Quinn's Horse Camp and following down Little Kern to Trout meadows, thence up Big Kern to a point below where Kern lakes now are crossed the river and, proceeding eastward via Monache meadows, was to strike Owens river below the lake.
The pressing need of a shorter and quicker route for the host of prospectors eager to reach the new mines warranted the project. Mr. Jordan secured a charter to maintain it as a toll road and completed nearly all the work on this side of Kern river in 1861. In 1862, while attempting the passage of Kern river on a raft, he was drowned. There were four in the party, the others being his two sons, Allen and Tolbert, and a man named Gashweiler. Allen remained on shore; Gashweiler, as the raft became unmanageable in the swift current, jumped onto a rock. Tolbert grabbed a limb of a tree which lay on the water and swung himself to safety on its trunk. Mr. Jordan was tipped off, and although a powerful swimmer, was sucked under by the strong current and drowned, the body never being recovered.
In the following year the sum of $1,600 was raised by subscription in Visalia to complete the trail. G. W. Warner undertook the work and finished it, building a bridge across Kern river. The magnitude of this latter undertaking will be better realized when it is understood that all chains, harness, stretchers and implements had to be packed from Visalia.
In 1863 J. B. Hockett built the trail which bears his name- -commencing at Three Rivers, proceeded up the south fork of the Kaweah, passing the Hockett lakes and meadows and joined the Jordan trail, continuing on its route to Big Kern. Instead of crossing the river at the same point, however, it continued up the stream to a point near the lower Funston meadows, whence crossing and ascending the wall of the Kern canyon, it made its way via the Whitney meadows to the crossing of Cottonwood creek, near the lakes, and thence down to Independence. This trail, though altered to eliminate steep pitches and other difficult sections, is followed today, practically as laid out fifty years ago.
The trail from Eshom valley through to Owens river by way of Kings river canyon, was an old Indian trail, as in part the others were.
COUNTY ROADS DURING THE LATE FIFTIES
At this period roads were few in number, the principal being these: The stage road to Stockton, which proceeded westerly as far as the old white house, on the Goshen road and then turned in a northwesterly direction to Cross creek; the two immigrant roads to Los Angeles; the road to Woodville which passed what is now the Mineral King orchard, crossed the Ship bridge and continued on to the Thomas mill in the mountains; a road through the Packwood district which proceeded in a westerly direction from near the south city limits of Visalia ; a road proceeding west from the Ship, or Cutler bridge to the old Warren Matthews place on Elbow creek, and thence by the Bass Parker (now Rush) place to Smith's on Kings river and known as the upper Stockton road.
Due north of town lay a swamp, the St. John's river not yet having been formed. The first road made to cross this proceeded by the Joe Roger's (now Pratt) place and connected with the Stockton road. The Pacheco Pass, or Gilroy road, proceeded west through "tin can alley," now West Oak street, crossed Kings river at Mat Isely's point, then turned west four miles to Kingston, thence in a northwesterly direction by the head of Fresno slough, passing Firebaugh, where the ferry was located, and on to the St. Louis ranch, at the mouth of Pacheco Pass.
One of the roads to Los Angeles left town at the old Wiley Watson place, ran due south to Dry creek, thence east about what is now Tulare avenue to the Evans' place (now Evansdale orchard). After passing this it ran due east to the Pike Lawless place on Packwood creek, thence easterly to near the site of the former Deep Creek schoolhouse, thence southeasterly to Outside creek and on in the same direction to Porterville.
The other road to Los Angeles crossed the old Kelly place just south of town, followed in a general way the route of the Tulare road and passed through the Buzzard's roost.
The road from the western portion of Tulare county to the coast, crossing the coast range through the Lawless Gap, follows essentially the route taken by John Hawpe, Bert Lawless and W. H. Mills, who in 1856 traveled to the coast and thence to Los Angeles, with many yoke of oxen, which they there exchanged for stock cattle, securing eight head for each yoke.
A road from Warren Matthews place on Elbow creek through Visalia to Kern river was surveyed and ordered built in 1857. Five district overseers were appointed by the supervisors in charge of sections as follows: First district—north of Kaweah and Mill creek, W. Matthews; Second district—Kaweah river to Elk bayou, Wiley Watson; Third district—Elk bayou to White river, I. S. Clapp ; Fourth district—White river to North Fork of Posey creek ; Fifth district—Posey creek to Calwell's ferry.
In 1863 a franchise was granted by the legislature to John McFarlane, Peter Goodhue, William P. Poer, H. A. Bostwick, E. E. Calhoun and others, under the name of McFarlane & Co., to build a toll road to Owens valley. This road, via Keyesville and Walker's pass, was completed in 1864 and proved of great benefit to the public. About one million pounds of freight passed over it the first year, and it carried a heavy traffic for some time, but financially the venture was a failure.
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler.