Calaveras Big Trees State Park - California
N 38° 16.370 W 120° 17.430
10S E 737024 N 4239559
California's oldest tourist attraction
Waymark Code: WM6D6E
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 05/15/2009
Views: 14
Today, California is famous for its Giant Sequoia groves. But it wasn't until 150 years ago that word got out to the world about these magnificent trees. And it was here in Calaveras County where the discovery was made. First, in 1833, explorer J. K. Leonard mentioned the trees in his diary, but never published the discovery. The second European was a man named John M. Wooster, who carved his initial in one of the big trees in the grove in 1850. Finally, in 1852, Augustus T. Dowd published his discovery of the big trees and this time, the world noticed. The tree discovered by Dowd survived the sudden attention only for one year and was felled in 1853 at the age of 1,244. But that didn't stop the grove from becoming a major tourist attraction and today, it is considered the longest continuously operated tourist facility in California. In 1931, the North Grove became a state park, which saved the last 100 surviving Sequoia trees in the grove from sharing the fate of the Discovery Tree.
In 1954, the South Grove was added to the park. This grove is ten times larger than the North Grove, but a lot less accessible. We will add more information once we make it there. For now, enjoy our pictures of the North Grove.
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Calaveras Big Trees State Park