page_title: Redwood National and State Parks
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Redwood National and State Parks / History
caption_attribution_description: Sequoia sempervirens in Redwood National Park
context_page_description: The Redwood National and State Parks are a complex of several state and national parks located in the United States, along the coast of northern California. Comprising Redwood National Park and California's Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks, the combined RNSP contain 139,000 acres, and feature old-growth temperate rainforests. Located entirely within Del Norte and Humboldt Counties, the four parks, together, protect 45% of all remaining coast redwood old-growth forests, totaling at least 38,982 acres. These trees are the tallest, among the oldest, and one of the most massive tree species on Earth. In addition to the redwood forests, the parks preserve other indigenous flora, fauna, grassland prairie, cultural resources, portions of rivers and other streams, and 37 miles of pristine coastline.
  In 1850, old-growth redwood forest covered more than 2,000,000 acres of the California coast. The northern portion of that area, originally inhabited by Native Americans, attracted many lumbermen and others turned gold miners when a minor gold rush brought them to the region.
context_section_description: Modern day native groups such as the Yurok, Tolowa, Karok, Chilula, and Wiyot all have historical ties to the region, and some Native American groups still live in the park area today. Archaeological study shows they arrived in the area as far back as 3,000 years ago. An 1852 census determined that the Yurok were the most numerous, with 55 villages and an estimated population of 2,500. They used the abundant redwood, which with its linear grain was easily split into planks, as a building material for boats, houses, and small villages. For buildings, the planks would be erected side by side in a narrow trench, with the upper portions bound with leather strapping and held by notches cut into the supporting roof beams. Redwood boards were used to form a shallow sloping roof. Until the 1860s, the Chilula lived in the middle region of the Redwood Creek valley in close company with the redwood trees. Two village sites of the Chilula (Howunakut and Noieding), who primarily settled along Redwood Creek in the Bald Hills to Minor Creek, California, are located within the contemporary boundaries of the park.
  The relationship between Indigenous groups and the redwoods extends beyond a physical connection. Scholar Gail L. Jenner notes that "their lives were – and are – built on more than just wood, although the redwood was the source of much of their material culture; their lives were enmeshed in the very character and fabric of the trees." As noted by Minnie Reeves, a Chilula tribal elder and religious leader, in 1976, the Chilula are "people from within the redwood tree." Reeves further elaborates that the trees are a gift from the creator as a demonstration of love: "Destroy these trees and you destroy the Creator's love. And if you destroy that which the Creator loves so much, you will eventually destroy mankind." To the Yurok, the trees are sacred living beings which "stand as 'guardians' over sacred places." Indigenous people regard traditional houses made of the redwood trees also as "living beings" since, according to Edwin C. Bearss, "the redwood that formed its planks was itself the body of one of the Spirit Beings," which were considered, in his words, to be a "divine race who existed before humans in the redwood region and who taught people the proper way to live there."
  Previous to Jedediah Smith in 1828, no other explorer of European descent is known to have thoroughly investigated the inland region away from the immediate coast. The discovery of gold along the Trinity River in 1850 led to a minor secondary rush in California. This brought miners into the area and many stayed on at the coast after failing to strike it rich. This quickly led to conflicts wherein native peoples were placed under great strain, if not forcibly removed or massacred. By 1895, only one third of the Yurok in one group of villages remained; by 1919, virtually all members of the Chilula tribe had either died or been assimilated into other tribes. The miners logged redwoods for building; when this minor gold rush ended, some of them turned again to logging, cutting down the giant redwood trees. Initially, over 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km²) of the California and southwestern coast of Oregon were old-growth redwood forest, but by 1910, extensive logging led conservationists and concerned citizens to begin seeking ways to preserve the remaining trees, which they saw being logged at an alarming rate. In 1911, U.S. Representative John E. Raker, of California, became the first politician to introduce legislation for the creation of a redwood national park. However, no further action was taken by Congress at that time.
  Preservation of the redwood stands in California is considered one of the most substantial conservation contributions of the Boone and Crockett Club. The Save the Redwoods League was founded in 1918 by Boone and Crockett Club members Madison Grant, John C. Merriam, Henry Fairfield Osborn, and future member, Frederick Russell Burnham. The initial purchases of land were made by club member Stephen Mather and William Kent. In 1921, Boone and Cr
caption: The coast redwood is the tallest tree species on Earth
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