Did you know that:
The act to established Yosemite National Park was passed by the US Congress with the help of intense lobbying efforts by the Southern Pacific Railroad in favor of the bill.
When John Muir formed the Sierra Club a significant number of the original club members were Southern Pacific executives.
Source: Richard J. Orsi, “Sunset Limited: The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Development of the American West. 1850-1930”.
Haven’t gotten that far yet; just got my copy on Monday. Interesting read so far, though.
The next U.S. National Park to be established was Yellowstone National Park, in 1872, with influence provided by the Northern Pacific Railway.
Canada’s first National Park was Rocky Mountains National Park (now Banff National Park) with influence provided by the Canadian Pacific Railway, in 1885. The present townsites of Banff and Lake Louise, Alberta were situated because they both provided year round access to water for the steam engines, an important consideration in a country where winter temperature run to forty below.
William C. Van Horne, President of the CPR, said, “Since we cannot move the scenery to the tourists, we shall move the tourists to the scenery.” And a National Park was formed, pretty much to the CPR’s specifications, including allowing mining for coal for the railways engines, and other minerals to generate traffic. This continued until 1922.
Bruce
Yosemite Park is a beautiful and fascinating part of the history of the US. I read some comments referencing the fact that at some point the railroads were denied access to the Park area(?)
Got to searching around using the Terms Yosemite Park/ N P R****R
Found a number of related sites referencing the park and railroad activities in the valleys of the Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy;
Here are a couple of links with lots of information on Railroad activities, that bears exploring (IMHO) :
http://www.pacificng.com/template.php?page=roads/ca/ysl/index.htm
http://www.pacificng.com/template.php?page=roads/ca/ysl/afreshlook.htm
You Tubes of YMSPRR Geared Shays on a Tourist Railroad in the Yosemite area:
“2) When John Muir formed the Sierra Club a significant number of the original club members were Southern Pacific executives.”
In the club, but the original board of directors in 1892 had eight members besides Muir. Of those eight, one was a lawyer and later mayor of Oakland, three were professors at UC Berkeley, one a professor at Stanford, one the first president of Stanford, and two were topographers with the USGS.
Maybe the railroad people weren’t on the board, but they sure were in cahoots with Muir on wilderness conservation. And don’t forget that Stanford University was made possible by wealth created by the Southern Pacific.
Here’s a somewhat lengthy passage from “Sunset Limited”:
"When Harriman died in 1909, Muir was grief-stricken. Despite his own failing health, the exhausting battle to save Hetch Hetchy Valley from San Francisco’s dam-building designs, his aversion to writing, and opposition from some of his anti-monopoly friends, Muir in 1911 penned a short memorial book on the life of E. H. Harriman. Muir warmly praised Harriman as a “great builder,” similar to the glaciers that had crafted Yosemite Valley:
“He fairly reveled in heavy dynamical work and went about it naturally and unweariedly like glaciers making landscapes-cutting canyons through ridges, carrying off hills, laying rails and bridges over lakes and rivers, mountains and plains, making the Nation’s ways straight and smooth and safe, bringing everybody nearer to one another. He seemed to regard the whole continent as his farm and all the people as partners, stirring millions of workers into useful action, plowing, sowing, irrigating
The origins of the friendship between Harriman and Muir are discussed in this article on the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition in the Smithsonian: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/alaska.html#ixzz20oUy9vjV Initially, not so good:
“It was no surprise two men so different in temperament and background did not always see eye to eye, particularly when it came to Edward Harriman. Burroughs liked him, but Muir was “rather repelled” by the seemingly coldhearted businessman, perhaps not least because Harriman cherished a sport Muir detested: hunting. In fact, the railroad man’s dream was to shoot and mount a giant Alaskan brown bear, and to that end he had brought along a complement of 11 hunters, packers and camp hands, plus two taxidermists.”
But by the conclusion of the long cruise , they were friends.
"John Muir’s improbable friendship with Edward Harriman paid off in 1905, when the intrepid wilderness advocate was struggling to get part of Yosemite Valley protected as a national park. He asked Harriman for help, and the railroad man’s powerful lobbying in the U.S. Senate enabled the Yosemite bill to pass by a single vote. Harriman’s power continued to grow in the years after the Alaska expedition. He merged the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads, but then an antitrust suit pulled them apart. Although that suit helped turn public opinion against Harriman, Muir stuck by him. When Harriman died in 1909, it was Muir who wrote his eulogy. “In almost every way he was a man to admire,” he said. “I at last learned to love him.”
Even more interesting is this piece written by Muir in 1912: http://www.yosemite.ca.us/john_muir_writings/edward_henry_harriman.html
Were there any or much contacts or relationships between Theodore Roosevelt and either Muir or Harriman ? (aside from anti-railroad monopoly “'trust-busting” litigation) TR also liked to shoot bears, his advocacy of conservation" notwithstanding, so there were some matters in common between them.
Yellowstone National Park was also served by several rail lines, though none were ever permitted to lay track or operate within it - there are several books, at least 1 each on the NP and UP branches. Harriman established a ‘ranch’ in the Island Park (Idaho) area on UP’s West Yellowstone (Wyoming) Branch, which is now a state park.
On Muir and TR:
http://www.undiscovered-yosemite.com/Roosevelt.html
http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/appreciation_by_roosevelt.aspx
TR and Harriman. This is a long read, but a worthwhile look into a complicated relationship:
Thank you. The link about TR and Harriman was very interesting.
You are welcome. Harriman seems to be giant in the RR industry and also a reforner. Muir was impressed with the upgrades Harriman was responsible for with the SP. The TR - Muir relationship was really quite remarkable as well.