Camp Mather’s Storied History
Dinner given by Stephen Mather at the Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite for San Francisco Supervisors, circa July 1927.
For centuries, the area now known as Camp Mather was inhabited by the region’s native Miwok people. Dozens of acorn mortar sites suggest the connection between the Miwok and this land may go back 2,000 to 10,000 years.
In the late 1800s, ranchers acquired land in the Hetch Hetchy area to graze cattle and sheep. When the City of San Francisco, authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Raker Act of 1913, began construction of a dam and reservoir on the Tuolumne River in Hetch Hetchy Valley, and work camps for the dam’s construction crews were erected on the site of today’s Camp Mather.
During this time a sawmill was built on the lake side of Mather to supply the lumber needed for the dam's construction. Birch Lake, now the camp swimming hole, was excavated for gravel needed for construction. During the excavation springs were struck, and the hole was flooded. The mill pond, located adjacent to the present swimming pool, was where the logs were floated to remove the bark to prepare them for milling. The sawmill was at the site of the present swimming pool and tennis court.
When the sawmill was erected, tourism was expected to flourish. Hoping to capitalize on this anticipated boom, the Yosemite National Park Company obtained a 20-year lease to operate a lodge and cabins as a resort for tourists to visit Yosemite Valley and the Dam construction site. In 1920 the company built the Hetch Hetchy Lodge. This building, with additions, and renamed “Jack Spring Dining Hall,” now serves as the Camp Mather kitchen and dining room.
This commercial enterprise soon failed, even as the O’Shaughnessy Dam was completed in 1923. After the necessary pipelines were completed, San Francisco began using Hetch Hetchy water in 1934.
In 1923, Mary Margaret Morgan, the first woman to serve on the San Francisco Playgrounds Commission, promoted opening a Sierras summer camp for the benefit of the city’s residents. In her honor, the camp was first called the Margaret Maryland Playground. The 328-acre camp opened on July 5, 1924, with 35 cabins from the sawmill era. Campers arrived after a 15-hour ferry and train trip from San Francisco.
Learn more at Wikipedia.
In the late 1800s, ranchers acquired land in the Hetch Hetchy area to graze cattle and sheep. When the City of San Francisco, authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Raker Act of 1913, began construction of a dam and reservoir on the Tuolumne River in Hetch Hetchy Valley, and work camps for the dam’s construction crews were erected on the site of today’s Camp Mather.
During this time a sawmill was built on the lake side of Mather to supply the lumber needed for the dam's construction. Birch Lake, now the camp swimming hole, was excavated for gravel needed for construction. During the excavation springs were struck, and the hole was flooded. The mill pond, located adjacent to the present swimming pool, was where the logs were floated to remove the bark to prepare them for milling. The sawmill was at the site of the present swimming pool and tennis court.
When the sawmill was erected, tourism was expected to flourish. Hoping to capitalize on this anticipated boom, the Yosemite National Park Company obtained a 20-year lease to operate a lodge and cabins as a resort for tourists to visit Yosemite Valley and the Dam construction site. In 1920 the company built the Hetch Hetchy Lodge. This building, with additions, and renamed “Jack Spring Dining Hall,” now serves as the Camp Mather kitchen and dining room.
This commercial enterprise soon failed, even as the O’Shaughnessy Dam was completed in 1923. After the necessary pipelines were completed, San Francisco began using Hetch Hetchy water in 1934.
In 1923, Mary Margaret Morgan, the first woman to serve on the San Francisco Playgrounds Commission, promoted opening a Sierras summer camp for the benefit of the city’s residents. In her honor, the camp was first called the Margaret Maryland Playground. The 328-acre camp opened on July 5, 1924, with 35 cabins from the sawmill era. Campers arrived after a 15-hour ferry and train trip from San Francisco.
Learn more at Wikipedia.
A Supreme AlumnusUS Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer
San Franciscan, Lowell High School graduate, Camp Mather kitchen staffer Speaking of his experience working in the kitchen at Camp Mather, Justice Breyer said, “In San Francisco in the nineteen-fifties, it was a wide-open time... there was a sense of possibility that we’ve never seen before or since. You had a great mixing of classes. I was a hasher at Camp Mather, in the Sierras, which was run by the city and county of San Francisco. Anyone could go. You had a mix of the families of firemen, policemen, and doctors and lawyers. They all felt an obligation to be part of the community and to contribute to the community.” This egalitarian mixing of San Franciscans remains a hallmark of the Mather experience. Breyer’s quote is excerpted from The New Yorker article “Breyer’s Big Idea,” October 23, 2005 and is used with permission of author Jeffrey Toobin. Contribute to the Camp Mather Story |
This Camp Mather history was compiled by Richard Schaadt and other volunteers. Richard is a long-time historian of Camp Mather, Hog Ranch, and environs.
Friends of Camp Mather is seeking history, pictures, and all kinds of useful info to add to this site. Please contact [email protected] to share your Mather story!
Friends of Camp Mather is seeking history, pictures, and all kinds of useful info to add to this site. Please contact [email protected] to share your Mather story!
