Camp Yosemite

 (1891-1913) - A seasonal U.S. Army Camp established as Camp near Wawona or Detachment at Yosemite National Park in 1891 by Captain Abram E. Wood, 4th U.S. Cavalry. The camp was established in Yosemite National Park, Madera County, California, to protect the park. Renamed Camp A.E. Wood in 1901 after the first park superintendent, Captain Wood. Moved and renamed Camp Yosemite in May 1907. Discontinued in 1916.

History
Established by Captain Abram E. Wood, 4th U.S. Cavalry in 1891 to protect the national park from visitors and ranchers grazing cattle and sheep. The U.S. Army involvement included the administration of the park and the commanding officer of the Camp also functioned as the Park Superintendent. The army provided small detachments at outlying points to assist and control visitors and trespassers. Over the years the U.S. Army also built an infrastructure of camps, roads and trails to support the increasing numbers of visitors and their own operations. Eventually the camp came to be a semipermanent facility. The U.S. Army presence in the park was from May through October each year and in their absence a limited number of civilian rangers patrolled the park.

Access to the park from the south was controlled through a check point established at a stagecoach change station that came to be known as Fort Monroe, named for one of the stagecoach drivers. This was not a military post although the checkpoint appears to have been manned by the soldiers from Camp A.E. Wood.

In 1905 Camp A.E. Wood was upgraded with several permanent buildings including a kitchen and a mess hall. In 1906 the camp was moved into the Yosemite Valley and later renamed Camp Yosemite in May 1907. The new camp site was a mix of tent and permanent structures that now included a small hospital for both military and civilian use.

The seasonal military garrison usually arrived at Yosemite in the first part of May and departed Yosemite at the end of October. The method of travel was usually by march, covering some 20 to 30 miles a day with stops at towns and local ranches along the route. The 1912 march to Yosemite was the last one documented in the post returns and included the following detail:

Troops C & D, 1st U.S. Cavalry left the Presidio of San Francisco at 2:00 a.m. April 22, 1912:

They marched a total of 280 miles to Camp Yosemite arriving 5 May 1912. The garrison departed the post at the end of October 1912 and returned to the Presidio.

The Camp Yosemite garrison departed the camp for the last time 10 Jul 1913 per Special Order 173 and the operation was turned over to a civilian manager, Gabriel Sovulewski, and five full time rangers.

Current Status
Yosemite National Park near Wawona, Madera County, California.

Sources:
 * , page 100
 * , page 38

Links:
 * North American Camps - Camp Yosemite
 * California Military Museum - Camp Yosemite
 * California Military Museum - Yosemite: The Cavalry Years