History of the Sierra Nevada

by Francis P. Farquhar

From the time it was sighted by Spanish explorers in the eighteenth century through the creation of the John Muir trail, the building of the Hetch Hetchy Dam, and the founding of the Sierra Club, the great snowy range of California has provided fulfillment to generations of trappers, immigrants, engineers, naturalists, and tourists. Now a mountaineering classic, this pioneering book was the first to synthesize into a single, riveting narrative all of the varied aspects of human endeavor related to the history of the Sierra Nevada. Thoroughly illustrated with photographs, drawings, and maps, the book continues to be indispensable for any lover of the high country.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Natural History, American History, Mountaineering, Reference

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Trevor Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by an amateur historian and avid lover of the Sierras, the book is well-researched and readable, however it suffers from a few conceptual and organizational faults. The coverage and lens is largely humanistic and Eurocentric (this is a rather one-sided environmental history, with a noticeable lack of coverage of Native peoples) and the book tends toward a celebration of white explorers who summitted and mapped the Sierras. The organization is also largely episodic, at the expense of providing a chronological picture of change as the Sierras were explored, exploited, and protected. The author provides interesting and well-evidenced challenges to the existing historiography at the time (1965) but leaves much room for a more comprehensive work on the Sierras.

[Aaron Hollander · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid primer on Sierra Nevada developments, expeditions, infrastructure and key personalities. Touches on many names, places and ideas, perfect to stimulate interest for further investigation. The writing is crisp and approachable. Greatest room for improvement would be a clearer and more easily illustrated map.

[Scott Senjo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book and could actually be titled Early History of the Sierra Nevada since it nicely and painstakingly covers the first recorded sightings of the mountains of California. These first records would, of course, be created by Spanish Missionaries, Spanish military personnel, and Spanish explorers who were obligated to make records of their journey for the Spanish King who was paying for their trip. The first recorded sightings of the mountains, passes, rivers, and peaks were also contained in maps, diaries and letters. American military personnel who eventually came west of the Mississippi River around 1820, either to go up into the Dakotas or down to into Texas kept journals and diaries of the details of their trips. The fact of Spanish and American record keeping is also why the coverage of the Indians' journeys into the mountains was limited to Chapter Two because the Indians had no formal practice of record keeping. In keeping with excellent scholarly standards, author Francis Farquhar relies exclusively on existing records to document the early history of the Sierras and the various tribes had no such record. Farquhar is keen to study who ascended the high crest. The author would study a relatively large amount of material, some of it old and ambiguous, in order to be as accurate as possible in his exposition of the history of the Sierra Nevada. The author is a Harvard alumni and eventually was a good mountaineer in his own right. But it is, possibly, his Harvard background which makes this book excellent when it comes to the scholarly standard of identifying precise historical developments and resisting speculation as to who did what, and when in the Sierras.

It is possible to tell that Farquhar wants to know who were the first to study the mountains for the fur trade, gold mining, mapping, or commerce in general. Hence, little attention is paid to the more populous villages of the valleys, either the Owens Valley to the east or the San Joaquin Valley to the west. He is disciplined to keep the focus on the mountains and even then, he seems most interested in which persons first meandered around the crest, or top of the Sierras, rather than the foothills. Initial emphasis is on Spanish missionaries, to be followed by American fur trapper Jedediah Smith in 1820, then military lieutenant Joseph Walker in 1830 and so forth.

Historical coverage is applied to those who endured serious hardship to pioneer the highest peaks and passes. The rigors endured by the first explorers of the Sierras are astonishing by today's standards. The book notes that it would take various parties several weeks to merely get to the base of the mountains, or that certain early officials of the Forest Reserve (today's Forest Service) or Park Service in 1890 might cover 30 miles in a day on horseback. Of such rigorous mountain men includes Bunnel's discovery of Yosemite Valley, Clarence King's exploits around the Kaweahs, John Muir's ascent of Mt. Whitney, Joseph LeConte's naming of the Evolution Range, and lastly, Norman Clyde's unprecedented forays to the top of the great mountain chain. The author appears to stop the historical period under study at Norman Clyde and 1930 or so. So there's good coverage of the exploration of the Tuolumne River Valley and the unfortunate damming of the Hetch Hetchy but there is purposeful omission of the first ascents of Yosemite's big rock walls of El Capitan and Half Dome in the 1960s.

This is a fine title, especially for those of us who have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to hike and camp in the Sierras. The historic detail is very good and in many ways impeccable. The author is careful to maintain a high quality standard of scholarship in this heavily cited book. The reader walks away inspired by the research in the book, and also by the research that demonstrates that the Sierras were beloved from the very beginning. The High Sierras were commercially exploited from the very beginning but they also immediately captured the attention of conservationists such as John Muir who rushed to protect the mountains so that they could be an unblemished inspiration to future generations.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, concise history of the Sierra Nevada range (covering mostly white settlers from the 18th century onwards, as well as formation of national parks and exploration.) My one critique would be that there are frequent references to places and trails with no maps (operating on the assumption that the reader has memorized the geography of the Sierras.) Though this may be true for some readers, I have only a general understanding of the Sierras- based almost entirely on the John Muir Trail as I am planning to thru-hike it this summer, and so I often found myself lost, unaware entirely of where the author was talking about it. Nevertheless, I did learn a lot about the early exploration and development of the range of light, and there were some interesting photographs and drawings.

[Henry Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very impressed with this short history with great details of significant events!

[Lucas L · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 / 5. The absence of virtually any Native American history is rather egregious, and this book is undoubtedly incomplete for that reason, bordering on misleading. There is also a bit too much reverence for many of these white explorers/settlers who have not stood up well to the test of time (looking at you, John Muir). That said, reading about the history of many of these places that have come to make up home for me was engrossing. Despite the book's flaws, it was an absolute joy to read, and what is told is an incredibly fascinating collection of events and people that shape the landscape of the Sierra Nevada as it exists today. Gave me a historical connection to many places I've walked and climbed and crossed myself.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mother read this book as part of our family visit to Yosemite. She said it was a quick read. It is, I moved through it in a few evenings. It is well written with short chapters by a former president of the Sierra Club. Farquhar admires John Muir, A LOT. Some interesting antidotes, but not riveting.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good preparation for a trip to Yosemite. Author obviously knows the history, geography, geology, and the entire cast of characters in the high country, but his style is rather quaint. I usually understand maps--these were not the best, and his references in the text to places/areas seem to assume you already know which map to look at and where the scene is set.

[Dayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often find history books dry retellings of things best forgotten, but this was a succinct, fun read. It began to get a bit tedious once it got into more modern times - especially the chapter on the Sierra Club became a list of names. But, everything before that was really interesting.

[Narina Munn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative and well written. I have an upcoming trip to the high sierras and although it is from the 1960's it is relevant and gave me so much insight into the history and geology of the area.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Farquhar's done a lot of research, but written in a very easy narrative style. Getting ready for my Yosemite trip!

[Brenda Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history, especially the first half of the book