Galen Clark
Galen Clark , (born March 28, 1814 in Shipton , Eastern Canada (now: Quebec ), † March 24, 1910 in Oakland , California ) was a Canadian-American conservationist and author who - alongside John Muir - was concerned with protection and has earned the preservation of Yosemite National Park .
Life
Galen Clark was born in Shipton, Canada.
He had learned the trade of cabinet maker and in 1836 he settled in Waterloo, Missouri . In 1839 he married Rebecca McCoy, daughter of Joseph McCoy. He lived in Missouri until 1845 when he moved to Philadelphia with his wife and 3 children . His wife died here in 1848, leaving behind a nine-day-old son. Clark brought his children, three sons and two daughters, to live with his relatives in Massachusetts , where they grew up and went to school.
- Wife: Rebecca Maria McCoy Clark (1821–1848)
- Children:
- Elvira Missouri Clark Lee (1840-1912)
- Joseph Locke Clark (1842-1862)
- Mary Ann Clark Regan (1844-1919)
- Galen Alonzo Clark (1847–1873)
- Solon McCoy Clark (1848-1857)
His eldest son, Joseph, had died in the Civil War. His second son graduated from Harvard in 1870 and came to live with his father in California in 1871, who was then running a hotel known as Clark's Station (later the Wawona Hotel). Alonzo died in 1874 and was buried in the Mariposa cemetery. Elvira, the eldest daughter, came to California in 1870 and married Dr. Lee. She lived in Oakland California, where her father died on March 24, 1910. Daughter Mary in the east. Solon, the youngest son, drowned at the age of 9.
Living in Yosemite
When Galen Clark was still living in the east, he heard stories of the huge fortunes made by the gold prospectors in California and so he decided to visit the new El Dorado after the early death of his wife . In 1854 he came through the Isthmus of Panama to Mariposa County , which was famous for its gold discoveries. So he became a gold digger. In August 1855, a group of 12-14 men made their way from Mariposa to Bear Valley and passed through the Yosemite Valley. Galen Clark was fascinated by the beauty of the valley and the surrounding mountains.
In the course of his work, he contracted a serious lung disease, because of which he went to the Yosemite forests and there his lung disease cured very quickly.
In 1857 Clark built a log cabin in the meadows of Wawona near a ford over the Merced River and a path that gave access to both the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove with the sequoia trees. The Strait of Wawona offered, among other things, a picturesque view of Inspiration Point. His log cabin, soon to be known as "Clark's Station," provided visitors with meals, shelter and a place for the horses to graze. Clark entertained his guests on a variety of topics from fauna and flora to Indian history and the geology of the park. From here he explored the surrounding woods and discovered in this way the "Mariposa Grove of Big Trees" Forest called from Giant Sequoias (Giant Sequoia).
In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act that gave the state of California to Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove. The terms of the law stipulated that "the state would receive the land on the express condition that the site was indispensably available for use by the public as a holiday resort and for recreation at all times". To protect this grove as well as the Yosemite Valley , a commission was set up by the State of California in 1864 consisting of eight men: Frederick Law Olmsted , Josiah Dwight Whitney , William Ashburner , Israel W. Raymond , Edward S. Holden , Alexander Deering , George W. Coulter and Galen Clark, who ran the park. Galen Clark was appointed the first park ranger "Guardian of the Valley" (later ranger) in 1867. Over the next 24 years he saw many commissioners come and go, but the popular and effective Clark remained in office.
A few years before his death, Clark wrote three books on the Yosemite Valley in general, the Sequoia groves and the Yosemite Indians. Galen Clark died at his daughter's home in Oakland, California, aged nearly 96.
The Clark Range in the southeast of Yosemite National Park is named after him, with Merced Peak (3574 m) as the highest peak, and Mount Clark (3512 m) in the mountain range.
Fonts
- The big trees of California, their history and characteristics . Illustrated from Photographs. Publisher G. Clark, Yosemite Valley, Calif., Published 1907
- Indians of the Yosemite Valley and vicinity: their history, customs and traditions . Illustrated by Chris Jorgensen and from Photographs. With an appendix of useful information for the visitor. Publisher: The author Yosemite Valley, Calif. Published 1910 [c1904]
- The Yosemite Valley, its history, characteristic features, and theories regarding its origin . Illustrated from photographs by George Fiske. Publisher: Nelson L. Salter, Yosemite Valley, Calif., Published 1910
- in German translation:
- Galen Clark: The Yosemite Indians. From the American English by Jens Lindenlaub. KT-Verlag 2016
- Galen Clark: The Yosemite Valley. From the American English by Jens Lindenlaub. KT-Verlag 2016
- Galen Clark: The Big Trees of California. From the American English by Jens Lindenlaub. KT-Verlag 2017
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Galen Clark - Yosemite National Park (US National Park Service). In: www.nps.gov. Retrieved September 6, 2016 .
- ↑ find a grave
- ^ Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove: A Preliminary Report, 1865 by Frederick Law Olmsted
- ^ WW Foote: Indians of the Yosemite Valley and Vicinity . San Francisco 1904.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Clark, Galen |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian-American conservationist and author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 28, 1814 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Shipton , Canada |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 24, 1910 |
| Place of death | Oakland , California |