Lincoln Grants Yosemite to California: The First Protected Wilderness
Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant in the middle of a civil war. The country was bleeding out, and he paused to protect a valley in California. Frederick Law Olmsted, the man who'd designed Central Park, pushed hard for it — arguing wild land needed saving from private hands before it vanished. Congress agreed. California got the deed. But here's the twist: this wasn't a national park. That idea came later. Lincoln accidentally invented conservation policy while trying to win a war.
June 30, 1864
162 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on June 30
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