1930-1931 The Generals Highway Stone Bridges are constructed near Lodgepole in Sequoia National Park.
1933 The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) is created as part of the New Deal; CCC camps are established at numerous sites in Sequoia National Park and Sequoia National Forest. 1934 The Taylor Grazing Act provides regulation of grazing on public lands to improve rangeland conditions and regulate their use. 1934 Hockett Meadow Ranger Station is built by Civilian Conservation Corps workers, replacing the original station built in 1906, on the Hockett Plateau in Sequoia National Park. 1935 The Historic Sites Act states it is a national policy to preserve for public use historic sites, buildings, and objects of national significance. 1935 On January 26, the County Board of Supervisors purchases land in the city of Alpaugh to be used for parks and other purposes; about two acres of this land becomes Alpaugh County Park. 1937 The Flood Control Act sets up federal flood control projects, many to be administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. 1938 Redwood Meadow Ranger Station is built by Civilian Conservation Corps workers in a remote grove of giant sequoias near the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River. 1938 Money is raised by public subscription to acquire 20.8-acre Pixley Park; it is presented to the County to serve Pixley, Tipton, Earlimart, Alpaugh, Angiola, Edendale, Saucelito, Ducor, and Terra Bella. 1940 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is created under the jurisdiction of the Department o the Interior, by combining the Bureau of Fisheries and the Biological Survey, to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. 1940 Kings Canyon National Park, comprising 461,901 acres, is established (March 4, 1940) north of and adjoining Sequoia National Park. 1941 Pear Lake Ski Hut is built by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers. 1946 The Bureau of Land Management is formed within the Department of the Interior by merging the General Land Office and the Grazing Service, to sustain the health, productivity, and diversity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. 1946 Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest is established as a result of action by Arthur Drew and the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West, endorsed by over forty other groups and organizations, and Senators Frank Mixter of Exeter and Hugh Burns of Fresno. 1947 The First Tule River Indian Reservation is recognized as a California Historic Landmark (Alta Vista School, 2293 E. Crabtree Ave.) in Porterville (August 19, 1947). 1948 The Tulare County Museum is built in Mooney Grove Park in partnership with the Tulare County Historical Society, and opens to the public on July 1. 1948 The Kaweah Post Office, Kaweah Colony (43795 North Fork Dr., Three Rivers), is designated a California Historical Landmark (October 24, 1948). [The www.ca.gov California Historical Resources website shows the date as August 27, 1947] 1948 The Charter Oak, or Election Tree (on Charter Oak Rd., 0.3 mi. W of Rd. 180, 7 mi. E of Visalia), is listed as a California Historical Landmark (November 15, 1948). 1948 Tailholt (SW corner of County Hwy. M109 [old Springville stage route] and County Hwy. M12, 8 mi. S of Fountain Springs) is designated a California Historical Landmark (November 15, 1948). 1950 The Butterfield Stage Route (1 mi. W of Lindsay) is designated a California Historical Landmark (March 30, 1950). 1950 The Tule River Stage Station (Porterville Public Park, SW corner of N. Main St. and W. Henderson Ave.) in Porterville is designated a California Historical Landmark (September 11, 1950). 1956 The General Grant Tree (Kings Canyon National Park) is designated as a National Shrine (the only living National Shrine) to honor the nation's war dead (May 24, 1956). 1957 Pilot SCICON program is developed. 1958 Fountain Springs (SW corner of County Roads J22 and M109 – old Springville stage route) is recognized as a California Historical Landmark (May 29, 1958). 1958 Clemmie Gill deeds 35 acres to SCICON. 1959 The 6,939-acre Pixley National Wildlife Refuge is established by executive order to provide wetland habitat for migratory waterfowl and shorebirds; the order resulted from a movement started by a group of Tulare and Pixley sportsmen to have the land transferred from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of the Interior and made a wildlife refuge. 1962 Construction begins on student cabins at SCICON. 1962 Lake Kaweah is formed by the completion of Terminus Dam (W of Three Rivers) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 1964 The Wilderness Act creates the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protects some 9 million acres (36,000 km²) of federal land "where man is a visitor, but does not remain." 1964 Recognizing the beauty of the vernal pools and plants, Jack Zaninovich, local grape grower and botanist, buys 40 acres of land about 4 miles E of Pixley and transfers it to The Nature Conservancy as the Pixley Vernal Pools Preserve. In 1986, the U.S. Department of Interior designates the Preserve as a National Natural Landmark; in 1997, the Preserve is transferred to the Center for Natural Lands Management. 1965 First day of school at the SCICON - Clemmie Gill School of Science and Conservation site (April 19, 1965). 1967 SCICON’s first observatory installed, on Observatory Hill. 1969 Sierra Club files suit in June against the Forest Service, citing three causes of action against Disney’s proposed gigantic ski development in Mineral King; Sierra Club members and many Tulare County residents stage hike-ins and write letters and articles in a campaign to save Mineral King from the development. |
Photos on this page by: John Greening, Gary Lindquist, and Laurie Schwaller; and courtesy of Katy Betz; Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Trails Maintenance Archives; and Tulare County Office of Education
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