Israel Ward Raymond
Israel Ward Raymond | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 28, 1811 Manhattan, New York |
| Died | January 14, 1887 (aged 75) San Francisco, California |
Burial place | Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York |
| Occupations | Businessman, shipping agent |
| Known for | Initiating the Yosemite Grant of 1864 |
Israel Ward Raymond (April 28, 1811 – January 14, 1887) was an American businessman and California agent for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company.[a] In early 1864, he wrote to Senator John Conness proposing federal protection for Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove, enclosing a draft bill and photographs; the resulting legislation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln on June 30, 1864, established the first federally sponsored land grant entrusted to a state for public recreation. Governor Frederick Low appointed Raymond to the inaugural Yosemite Commission in September 1864, and he served as a commissioner for more than two decades. Mount Raymond in Yosemite National Park was named for him by the Whitney Survey.
Career
Raymond settled in San Francisco and became the California representative of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, which operated steamship routes between the Pacific Coast and Panama connecting to eastern ports.
Yosemite Grant
In early 1864, Raymond wrote to Senator John Conness of California urging legislation to preserve Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove from private encroachment.[1] The letter enclosed a draft bill and a collection of photographs documenting the valley's scenery; Raymond argued the lands should be held "for public use, resort, and recreation and are inalienable forever," noting that the rocky summits had little commercial value.[2] Conness introduced the legislation; Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant Act on June 30, 1864.[1] The Act directed California to hold both tracts in perpetuity for public use, resort, and recreation, administered by the governor and eight unpaid commissioners.[1]
Yosemite Commission
Governor Frederick Low appointed Raymond to the first board of the Yosemite Commission on September 28, 1864.[3] The inaugural board also included Frederick Law Olmsted, J. D. Whitney, William Ashburner, and Galen Clark, among others.[3] Clarence King and James Terry Gardiner of the Whitney Survey were appointed to produce a boundary survey of the valley rim that September.[4] California formalized the commission's authority in its Act of April 2, 1866, constituting the governor and eight commissioners as a statutory board.[5]
Legacy
Mount Raymond, a peak in Yosemite National Park, was named for Raymond by the Whitney Survey.[6]
Notes
- ^ The Sierra Club John Muir Exhibit identifies Raymond's employer as the "Central American Steamship Transit Company of New York"; the National Park Service and other historical sources identify it as the Pacific Mail Steamship Company.
References
- ^ a b c "Yosemite Grant Act of 1864". National Park Service. Archived from the original on February 23, 2026. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ^ "Israel Raymond". Sierra Club John Muir Exhibit. Archived from the original on June 27, 2025. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
- ^ a b "Yosemite: the Park and its Resources (1987), "Chronologies"". Yosemite Association. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Wilson, Robert (2006). The Explorer King: Adventure, Science, and the Great Diamond Hoax – Clarence King in the Old West. Scribner. pp. 149–182. ISBN 978-0-7432-6025-1.
- ^ "Yosemite: the Park and its Resources (1987), "Appendixes"". Yosemite Association. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Farquhar, Francis P. (1926). Place Names of the High Sierra. San Francisco: Sierra Club.
External links
- Israel Raymond — Sierra Club John Muir Exhibit