Founded in 1957, the Mariposa Museum & History Center is administered as a non-profit corporation and is truly a labor of love for the dedicated volunteers who, over the years, have helped to
create the museum you see today. We have been dubbed “The Best Little Museum of Its Size West of the Mississippi” by the Smithsonian Institution – high praise, indeed! Our museum’s mission is to authentically portray the people and lifestyle of Mariposa County from the Native American and Spanish periods to the California Gold Rush and through the early 1900s. Original documents and artifacts, gold displays, artwork, photos, and Native American baskets, implements, and beadwork are just a few items to enjoy when you visit us.
Our outdoor displays boast the only operational 5-stamp gold ore mill in California, a fully functional Blacksmith Shop and Broom-making Shop, in addition to other significant pieces of mining equipment. Furthermore, two historical Mariposa buildings have been conveyed to our museum grounds for your viewing pleasure.
Inside exhibits include an extensive Miwok Indian display, an interior view of a miner’s cabin, an authentic Mother Lode saloon, a one-room schoolhouse, and furnishings belonging to former Mariposa County resident – and the West’s most famous explorer – John C. Fremont, and his wife, Jessie.
The museum also houses a research library for those interested in historical and genealogical research (by appointment only, please). Docents are always available to answer questions, while group tours, gold panning lessons, and stamp mill demonstrations can be arranged with advance notice.
ENTRANCE FEES: Adults – $5.00 Children under 18 – Free
HOURS OF OPERATION: 10 am – 4 pm Open daily, year round. Call ahead for snow closures.
Text & Photo credit: http://mariposamuseum.com/
Source: AnselAdams.com
In the summer of 1901, a landscape painter and political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle by the name of Harry Best took an excursion to Yosemite Valley to camp and paint. Little did he know that this trip would have, indirectly, such an impact on so many, or that we, his descendants, would be telling this story now, nearly a century later.
That summer he met Anne Rippey, a beautiful young woman working as an assistant in one of the photography studios in the Valley. After a whirlwind courtship, the two married on July 28 at the base of Bridal Veil Fall. After the ceremony, they stopped the incoming stagecoach to have everyone celebrate with them. (Rumor has it that several men were courting Ms. Rippey that summer, and Harry’s success lay in his persistence and having sent back to San Francisco for an engagement ring).
That winter, Harry applied to the U.S. Army, Yosemite administrators at the time, for a permit to operate a studio business. The following summer, in 1902, the Bests opened their studio in a tent in Yosemite Valley. Thereafter, Harry and Anne returned to Yosemite each summer, building the original Studio in the Old Yosemite Village in 1904.
Best’s Studio was a family affair from the earliest. Not only was it a husband and wife team producing and selling paintings, painted photographs, and photo finishing, but the Studio also represented Arthur and Alice Best, Harry’s brother and sister-in-law. Harry was successful both as a businessman and painter: Best’s Studio is the last of several artist’s studios that were established around the turn of the century, and paintings of his have hung in the White House and San Francisco’ s Bohemian Club for many years. His, and the company’s, success is attributed to a deep commitment to Yosemite National Park and the desire to share and create a positive Park experience for the visitors.
Harry and Anne’ s daughter Virginia was born in 1904, and grew up spending summers in Yosemite until 1926 when the family took up full time residence in the Valley. In those years, and for a long time thereafter, Best’s Studio was the social center of the Valley . It housed the only piano in the Park and the lovely singing voice of Virginia Best.
Ansel Adams first came to Yosemite National Park in 1916 and returned in 1920 as a caretaker for the Sierra Club’ s LeConte Lodge, still planning a career as a concert pianist. This goal brought him in close contact with the Bests, and Ansel soon found himself visiting the Studio as much for the company as to practice the piano. On January 2, 1928, Ansel Adams and Virginia Best were married in the newly constructed Best’s Studio in the “new village” in Yosemite Valley.
The addition of Ansel Adams to the family had a major impact on the business. At the time of the wedding, Ansel’s career as a photographer was just beginning. He had published, with the help of Albert Bender, his first portfolio in 1927, “Parmelian Prints of the High Sierra.” The Studio and Ansel had a symbiotic business relationship: Ansel providing high quality photographic material that appealed to visitors, and the Studio providing an outlet for his work and on-going financial support to a struggling artist. In this vein, The Ansel Adams Gallery continues to seek out and represent promising contemporary artists.
Ansel and Virginia had two children, Michael, born in 1933 in Yosemite, and Anne, born in 1935 in San Francisco. The family split its time between San Francisco, where Ansel still maintained the family home, and Yosemite. During the Second World War the family moved to Yosemite year round, and the children grew up in this idyllic spot. Ansel and Virginia published a children’ s story book, Michael and Anne in Yosemite , which still occasionally becomes available on the secondary market.
Harry Best passed away in 1936, and Virginia inherited the business that she had been running for some years. Around this time, Ansel and Virginia conscientiously shifted the focus of the Studio to offer merchandise and services that fit with an ethic to respect the landscape and draw inspiration and creativity from the beauty of the environment. This ethic continues to guide The Ansel Adams Gallery, and, while the standard is high, we think we have been successful in finding and developing artwork and services that fit this ethic. Reading was a life long passion of Virginia’s, and her interest embodied itself in a fine selection of books, and the book selection continues to be outstanding and widely complemented. Ansel and Virginia published a number of books, cards, and other photographic related items.
In the early 1950′s, Ansel initiated the Yosemite Special Edition Photographs, a series of Ansel’s photographs printed under his supervision and differentiated from his exhibition prints by price and presentation. The Ansel Adams Gallery continues to offer the Yosemite Special Edition, printed by Alan Ross. The Gallery is the exclusive source for these beautiful photographs printed from Ansel Adams’ original negatives.
The Photography Workshop program began in 1940, and was one of the first photographic education programs in the country. The original workshops were one week long with several instructors, and groups of 10 to 12 students worked with different instructors in field, classroom, and darkroom sessions. Many participants have told us that the workshop program with Ansel and the other professional photographers was a life shaping experience.
Virginia Best Adams operated the Studio until 1971, when she and Ansel turned the company over to Michael and Jeanne Adams, their son and daughter-in-law. During this time, the name of the business was changed to The Ansel Adams Gallery to reflect the primary focus of photography, and the powerful legacy that Ansel had in photography and environmental conservation. Photography and conservation are embodied in the person and work of Ansel Adams, and it is the purpose of the Gallery to encourage the values, efforts, and sense of awe that Ansel held and personified.
The Ansel Adams Gallery is open seven days per week, from 9AM to 6PM, Pacific Time, with extended hours in the summer. NOTE: Winter hours are 10am-5pm. Christmas Eve hours are 9am-3pm, closed Christmas Day.
The gallery is located in the heart of Yosemite Valley, between the Visitor Center and Post Office, with incredible views of Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and Glacier Point. The staff includes climbers, photographers, hikers, dog lovers and generally people who love Yosemite.
The Ansel Adams Gallery is an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service
text & photo credit: www.anseladams.com
The special guest for the day was Ranger Gabriel, who served as the Honorary Chairman of the 125th Anniversary of Yosemite National Park. Gabriel Lavan-Ying, 10, from Gainesville, Florida, became an Honorary National Park Ranger through the Make-A-Wish Foundation in June, 2014. This was his third visit to the park.
Among the visitors to the Park were Yosemite High students from ASB and Yearbook classes, with teacher Tammy Thacker at the helm.
There were presentations of artwork from local schools, anniversary cakes, and commemorative posters created for the special occasion. Delaware North, the parks concessioner, and Yosemite Conservancy, the park’s philanthropic partner, also presented checks to the local schools to support many programs.Other ceremony highlights included resolutions from local, state, and national elected officials, the park’s Mounted Patrol presented the colors, and Grace Flanagan, a sophomore from Mariposa High School sang the national anthem.
“This is a great day as we celebrate the 125th Anniversary of Yosemite National Park,” stated park Superintendent Don Neubacher. “It is wonderful to see all of the students here, who will be preserving and protecting Yosemite National Park for the next 125 years and beyond.”
On October 1, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison signed the legislation creating Yosemite National Park, the nation’s third National Park. The establishment of Yosemite National Park preserved over 1,500 square miles of land including Tuolumne Meadows, the park’s high country, Hetch Hetchy and lands surrounding Yosemite Valley.
The creation of Yosemite National Park added protected land to the existing Yosemite Grant Act of 1864. This landmark law protected Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and was managed by the State of California. Preservation of these lands is generally regarded as the birth of the national park idea. The creation of the park and the Yosemite Grant collectively preserved most of Yosemite National Park as it is known today.
Text and photo credit: Sierra News Online
Highlights from Yosemite 125th Anniversary
The Redwoods In Yosemite would like to share the latest information from our friends at the UC Merced Yosemite Field Station in Wawona, just on the corner of Chilnualna Falls Rd and Highway 41 in Yosemite.
Join us, Sunday, August 20th, from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM at the UC Merced Yosemite Field Station in Wawona, CA, for a night of star-gazing and listen to a short lecture on “The Lives of Stars” by Professor Tammy Smecker-Hane. You will hear about how stars and planets form, whether there are Earth-like planets around other stars, how stars spend their lives and what they do when they eventually die. After the talk we’ll use portable telescopes to explore the night sky and you will see Saturn, M57 – the Ring Nebula, various star clusters and galaxies like M51 and M81.
Come out on Monday, Aug 21 on the lawn at the UC Merced Yosemite Field Station in Wawona, CA to see the spectacular solar eclipse from 9:00 am – 12:00 noon. During a solar eclipse, the Moon blocks the light of the Sun and from Wawona approximately 75% of the sun’s disc will be occulted. Its an event that doesn’t come around often, so you won’t want to miss it! We will use portable telescopes to project the image of the Sun during the eclipse so that many people can safely and easily see it as the eclipse as it progresses. Please do NOT stare directly at the Sun for any length of time during an eclipse because it can cause irreparable damage to your eyes. Individual eclipse glasses will be on sale, too, for $3 on a first-come first-served basis so that you can view the eclipse safely.
The UC Merced Yosemite Field Station’s address is 7799 Chilnualna Falls Rd., Wawona, CA 93623. It is located approximately 25 miles from Yosemite Valley, 4 miles from the South entrance to Yosemite National Park, and 5 miles from the Giant Sequoia Grove. The South Fork of the Merced River runs very close to the Yosemite Field Station, too. So bring your family and join us in exploring the wonders of the heavens and Earth!
Both events are free and open to the public. We welcome everyone of all ages and encourage you to share the information with friends and family. Feel free to download the poster that advertises this event and post it for others to see. RSVPs are not necessary, but are very much appreciated so that we can be prepared for you when you arrive.
Have fun exploring the starry skies and create a memory viewing the Solar Eclipse 2017 in Yosemite!
Something new and exciting is in store at The Redwoods In Yosemite. The Redwoods In Yosemite Wedding and Event Center! Watch for additional updates during our renovation process and if you’re on your way to see us, please excuse our mess. Rest assured this will not interfere with your vacation!
We are so excited about the progress on our new Wedding and Events Center at The Redwoods! The outside of the building is nearly complete and the granite hearth and the hand picked river rocks have arrived for the fireplaces! The Event Center is scheduled to open in March 2015 and will comfortably seat 80 guests for dining inside or outside on our spacious new deck! Give us a call at 877-496-3052 to book your next group event!
Yosemite National Park will celebrate National Park Week and Earth Day beginning on Saturday, April 20, through Sunday, April 28, 2013. Special events and activities are being sponsored and organized by the National Park Service (NPS), DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc., Yosemite Conservancy, and the Ansel Adams Gallery.
Entrance fees will be waived for Yosemite National Park from Monday, April 22, through Friday, April 26, 2013 to celebrate National Park Week and Earth Day. Camping fees and all other fess will still be applicable.
This year, the focus of National Park Week is Did you know…, which provides a fun way to discover the wonders of America’s national parks. The Did you know… focus inspires visitors to ask questions about national parks that encourage learning and activities within the parks. It also helps encourage the public to visit a nearby national park to camp, hike, watch wildlife, and enjoy being in nature.
This year’s annual celebration will include events and activities throughout the whole week. Events and activities include:
Friday, April 19
- 2:00 p.m.: Earth Day Bike Ride
- 7:00 p.m.: Earth Day Family Night
Saturday, April 20 (National Junior Ranger Day and Earth Day Celebrations)
- 9:00 a.m.: Ansel Adams Photography Walk
- 9:00 a.m.: Stewardship Project
- 10:00 a.m.: Climbing Trails Restoration Project
- 10:30 a.m.: Earth Friendly Product Fair
- 10:30 a.m.: Earth Day & Junior Ranger Day Village Celebration
- 10:30 a.m.: Earth-Lovin’ Lil’ Ones
- 11:30 a.m.: Sustainable Salad Bar Tasting
- 12:00 p.m.: Universal Waste Collection
- 1:00 p.m.: Earth Day Cupcakes & Lemonade
- 1:00 p.m.: National Volunteer Day Trash Pick-up
- 1:00 p.m.: Photography Class
- 3:00 p.m.: Fine Print Tour
- 5:30 p.m.: Naturalist Stroll: Poetry and Parks
- 8:00 p.m.: The National Parks: America’s Best Idea Showing
Saturday, April 20 (Junior Ranger Children’s Stage Events)
- 10:00 a.m.: Junior Ranger Walk.
- 11:00 a.m.: Children’s Yoga
- 11:45 a.m.: Wee Wild Ones
- 12:30 p.m.: Live Earth Music for Kids
- 1:15 p.m.: Children’s Storytelling
- 3:00 p.m.: Junior Ranger Walk
Sunday, April 21
- 7:00 p.m.: Chasing Ice Documentary Showing
Monday, April 22
- 8:00 p.m.: National Parks in the Sky
Tuesday, April 23
- The National Park Idea Started… Here
Wednesday, April 24
- 8:00 p.m.: This is America
Thursday, April 25
- 8:00 p.m.: What’s Wild in Yosemite
Friday, April 26
- 8:00 p.m.: Primeval Ponderings: A Meander Through the Wilderness
Saturday, April 27
- 8:00 p.m.: Yosemite by Ear
Sunday, April 28
- 8:00 p.m.: Untold Stories from America’s National Parks
For more information and a description of all events, please visit: http://www.nps.gov/yose/parknews/index.htm and click on the current “Yosemite Guide” link, or call 209-372-0200. (Courtesy of NPS)
Visit www.redwoodsinyosemite.com for special
accommodations during National Park Week!
Earlier this month a Mountain Lion was spotted near the trail to Chilnualna Falls. Local rangers ask that visitors be cautious when traversing trails and paths within the park.
According to the National park Service website:
Scientists, in 2003, validated the increase of mountain lion sightings in Yosemite National Park through a park-affiliated study that detailed no aggressive behavior by these animals toward visitors. To gather data, the researchers attached radio-collared transmitters to some of the animals on park land. The 18 known individuals in the study area, which went beyond the park’s boundaries, yielded an estimate of one mountain lion per 25 square miles. (Yosemite covers approximately 1,169 square miles.) Suspicions existed then and now that density is likely to be higher. Mountain lions, according to the study, occasionally pass through developed areas but seldom linger. Some animals migrate in vast ranges seasonally between higher and lower elevations.
Often, attacks by mountain lions are attributed to human infringement through development on the animals’ territory, but, in Yosemite, this is not a factor. Findings of the 2003 Yosemite study offered an unexplained periodic use, sometimes more intense than others, of Yosemite Valley by the animals. The park prohibits feeding of all animals, including raccoons, coyotes and mule deer, in part because doing so attracts their predators to developed areas.
If you see a mountain lion, take these additional precautions:
- Do not run.
- Shout in a low voice and wave your arms or hold open your coat to look large and threatening.
- Maintain eye contact and do not crouch down.
- Throw sticks or rocks.
- If an attack occurs, fight back.
Contact the rangers office with any sighting information at (209) 375-9521. A member of our Front Desk Team will be happy to put in the call for you.