WAWONA
JOURNAL

by TOM BOPP 

DATED HISTORY OF WAWONA
Contributed by Stanley Valim

1857 - Galen Clark first built west of (present day) golf course's 7th green
1857 - Clark and Milton Mann discovered and named Mariposa Grove.
1859 - Exact date unknown, but before June, Clark moved to the present hotel area.
1870 - Clark took on partner, Edward Moore.
1875 - Clark and Moore sold out to Washburn, Coffman, & Chapman.
1876 - New building, the "Long White"--today known as Clark Cottage.
1877 - Johnny B. Bruce & J. J. Cook enter partnership with Washburn; Coffman & Chapman step down.
1878 - Fire destroyed remains of Clark Station except for "Long White" which survived the fire.
1879 - The main building opened.
1882 - Johnny Bruce dies, leaving ownership of the Wawona to Washburn & Cook.
1883 - Thomas Hill moves to Wawona.
1884 - "Little White" cottage was added.
1885 - In April, John Washburn married Estella Hill, daughter of Thomas Hill.
1886 - John and Estella's only child, Clarence, was born in Oakland.  First train arrives at new station in Raymond; 50 or 60 passengers board stages bound for Wawona via the Chowchilla Mt. Road.
1891 - Wawona Hotel Company incorporates. 1894 - "Little Brown", known today as Moore Cottage, was added to the Wawona Hotel complex.
1898 - Twelve rooms were added to the attic of Clark Cottage.
1899 - A one-story porched building was added called "Long Brown." Today it is known as Washburn Cottage.
1903 - President Theodore Roosevelt visited Wawona.
1905 - Second floor was added to Washburn Cottage.
1910 - End of railroad operations to Raymond.
1913 - Clarence Washburn's second marriage to Grace Brinkop.
1914 - June 17 a baby girl, named Wawona Washburn, born to Clarence and Grace.
1917 - On June 14, John Washburn died.
1918 - New Annex was opened, and was the first building to have rooms with bathrooms.
1918 - The fountain that adorns the front of the hotel today built to replace the earlier one.
1918 - Golf course and swimming pool opened.
1918 - The main hotel added a new dining room and a third floor along with six more guest rooms on the second floor.
1920 - A women's dorm built back of the kitchen.
1925 - Two Army pilots landed first airplane at Wawona.
1926 - The women employee quarters, located in back of the main hotel, were converted to make the 38 room Sequoia Hotel which opened on May 27th.
1927 - The Merced and Wawona Airline started.
1937 - New school built in North Wawona.
1947 - Bathrooms were added to Clark Cottage. The attic bedrooms were closed off and the 16 small downstairs rooms were changed into 8 larger rooms, each with a private bathroom.
1948 - "Little White" became the Manager's Cottage - in 1985 it reverted back to a guest cottage, and at that time the upstairs main building became guest rooms.
1952 -Bathrooms added to Washburn cottage.
1952 - "Little Brown Cottage" was changed to Moore Cottage, "Long Brown" changed to Washburn Cottage, and "Long White" to Clark Cottage.
1953 - Old coffee shop torn down that was built in the 1920s.
1954 - Grocery store and coffee shop opened, later a gas station, too.
1955 - Flood destroyed Stella Lake and damaged the covered bridge.
1956 - Old buildings moved to Wawona as part of the Pioneer History Center.
1960s - Coffee shop changed into the gift shop.
1977 - Arson fire burned the Sequoia Hotel down on Thanksgiving Day.
1979 - 100th anniversary for the Wawona Hotel main building celebrated.

Sources: Shirley Sargent's "Yosemite's Historic Wawona", and plaques within the Wawona Hotel grounds.

The Wawona Hotel was named after an Indian word that is thought to mean "Big Tree." At first, it was just a trailside camp, operated by Galen Clark. Known as Clark's Station, it served as an overnight stopping place for tourists on their way to Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees.

In 1875, the Wawona road to Yosemite Valley was built, and Washburn, Coffman, & Chapman bought Clark's Station. They built most of the buildings of the hotel. In 1987, the Wawona Hotel was designated a National Historic Landmark.