(The Three Brothers, Yosemite National Park)

Julius Theodore Boysen

On 20 June 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill passed by Congress that set aside Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. The bill stated that the lands be held “…for public use, resort, and recreation…inalienable for all time.” This marked the first time the U.S. government protected land for public enjoyment and it laid the foundation for the establishment of the national and state park systems. Yosemite National Park was designated by an Act of Congress on 1 October 1890, making it the third national park in the United States, after Yellowstone and Sequoia. Yosemite National Park encompasses 747,956 acres in the central Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California. Approximately 95% percent of the park is federally designated wilderness. Yosemite National Park was declared a World Heritage Site on 31 October 1984.

This vintage photograph by Julius Theodore Boysen captured the Three Brothers in early spring while there was still snow on the cliffs and the ground. The Three Brothers, a massive rock formation in Yosemite Valley, are located east of El Capitan. The uppermost Brother is Eagle Peak and the others are Middle and Lower Brothers. Members of the Mariposa Battalion named the Three Brothers after the capture of the three sons of Chief Tenaya near the base of the Three Brothers. You can see the Three Brothers from Southside Drive or the Merced River just east of Cathedral Beach Picnic Area.