Galen Clark

Galen Clark (March 28,1814 – March 24,1910) is known for his discovery of the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia trees and for his role as Guardian of Yosemite National Park for 21 years. In 1853, Clark had a severe lung infection and moved to the Wawona, California area as a homesteader. His lungs healed and he subsequently explored and climbed much of the area.

Clark did not seek to enrich himself from Yosemite Valley or the Sequoia Trees. He ran a modest hotel and guide service, but was a poor business man who was constantly in debt. "Clark's Station" in Wawona, California, for example, had several more employees than required for the number of guests and its short season.

Toward the end of his life Clark was desperately poor. He wrote three books on Yosemite. These include Indians of the Yosemite (1904) and The Yosemite Valley (1910). Galen Clark's book on the Sequoia trees is simple, factual, and direct. He left out his personal role in the discovery, popularization, and protection of the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees as hotel keeper, guide, and Guardian of Yosemite and Mariposa Grove.

References

• Indians of the Yosemite (1904)
• The Big Trees of California (1907)
• "Yosemite: Past and Present," Sunset, April, 1909
• The Yosemite Valley (1910)
• Early Days in Yosemite (1964). Originally published as "A Plea for Yosemite" in Yosemite Nature Notes (February 1927) from a manuscript written c. 1907.
• "Galen Clark" biographical sketch by Mrs. H. J. Taylor (in Yosemite Indians and Other Sketches, 1936)
• Sketch of Galen Clark's life by John Muir. (in The Yosemite, 1912)
• Galen Clark's obituary
• Sketch of Galen Clark by W. W. Foote in Indians of the Yosemite (1904)
• Shirley Sargent, Galen Clark: Yosemite Guardian 3d. ed. (1994).