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Come Celebrate With Us!
The Sequoia National Forest Centennial
Celebrating a Century of Service, 1908 - 2008

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Celebrating 100 Years Sequoia National Forest 1908 -2008 If the land could speak, it would tell many stories of Native Americans, cattle, gold prospecting, lumber camps, sheep drives, early day resorts, hot springs, pack stations, and isolated forest guard stations and fire lookouts. One hundred years ago in July 1908, the Sequoia National Forest was formed and the Forest Service became responsible for the perpetuation of the natural ana cultural assets within the national forest boundary.

Forest Service History 

On July 1, 2008 the Sequoia National Forest will celebrate its centennial.    Historical structures located throughout the forest tell a rich cultural history that have value in interpreting Forest Service history.

Forest Service Guard Stations
Guard stations were built across the forest to accommodate early rangers and their families.  Many of these are in remote locations and exist today.  The earliest examples were built with local materials, such as hand hewn pine logs, using broad axes and crosscut saws.  Some of these structures are recorded as historic sites, and a few are recreation rental cabins or administrative sites.

These rangers may be compared with the fire prevention technicians (FPTs) that the visitor is likely to meet during their visits today.  How has field work, equipment, and lifestyle changed since the days rangers lived in the field in these guard stations?  

For more information see our lookouts webpage. [Photo inset: Motorcycle Fire Patrol Kern Forest]

Fire lookouts
Eleven remaining fire lookouts exist on the Sequoia, eight of which are still operated by seasonal employees or volunteers as fire lookouts and are open to the public.  Oak Flat is available to visitors as a recreation rental.  The Buck Rock Foundation is a volunteer organization that is involved in restoration efforts, fund raising, staffing, and interpreting these structures.  

For more information, see www.buckrock.org.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
This federal work program was started in the 1930s as a human resource conservation program during the Great Depression.  These young men developed job skills, while performing resource conservation work.  

Enrollees built structures, such as fire lookouts, recreation sites and retaining walls, planted trees, and fought forest fires.  Their work can still be seen and enjoyed in some areas of the forest.  Many of the fire lookouts and the guard stations on the Sequoia were built by the CCC and may be the best opportunities to interpret their legacy.  [Photo inset: Cabins on the Forest.]

For more information, see http://www.newdealproject.org/intro.html http://www.ccclegacy.org/links.htm.

Giant Sequoia National Monument
In 2000 the Giant Sequoia National Monument was established by Presidential Proclamation and covers approximately one-third of the forest, and includes all giant sequoia groves within the forest boundary.

The purpose of the monument is to protect the giant sequoias and other objects of interest.  

For more information on this topic or to see the presidential proclamations: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/gsnm/overview.html

Want to Know More? Check out our Timeline Panels (pdf format)
Beginning 1850 - 1904	Early Forest Service 1905 - 1909	Custodial 1910 - 1932	Depression 1933 - 1940	War Years 1941 - 1945
Post War 1946 - 1959	Multiple Use 1960 - 1969	Public Participation 1970 - 1992	Ecosystem 1993 - 2005	Future