Page:Tioga Road (HAER No. CA-149) written historical and descriptive data.pdf/6

 near the lake in 1878, boarded some of the passengers; earlier, he had put up some of the surveyors for the road.18

In 1881, the Yosemite Board of Commissioners discussed the construction of road from Yosemite Valley to the Tioga mines and on to Bodie. The route, which was proposed by a Mr. Murphy, would have climbed up Indian Canyon to reach the Sierra crest. This road was never built, but it was the first of a number of proposals for roads climbing out of the east end of the Valley to the high country around Tioga Pass.19

By July 1884, the sheepherder Mine of the Great Sierra Consolidated Silver Company had been forced 1,784' into the mountain, and it was felt that the lauded vein of ore was nearly in reach. But the investors had by now expended their funds, and on 3 July the company owners sent a telegram to the mine superintendent, ordering him to cease operations. The workers immediately left, leaving tools behind in the tunnel and plates on the table in the their quarters. Not one ounce of silver or gold ore had been recovered. The mine and the wagon road had lost some $300,000 of the investors' money. In 1888, William Swift, one of the backers, acquired all of the assets including the toll road. Swift made an effort to resume mine operations, but nothing came of this, either.20

After the closing of the mines, little traffic used the route, and the absentee owner did little to maintain the road. Few tolls were collected, too little to pay the collectors.21 In 1890, when Yosemite National Park was created, captain A. E. Wood, the first Acting Superintendent of the park, found the road was blocked with trees and washed out in places. He called it "a good mounted trail, and as such it is of much importance."22 The government did not purchase the road, however. Rudolphus N. Swift, William's brother, received the mine property and road in 1895.23

In 1894, the Homer Mining Index indicated that the road was rapidly deteriorating. It noted "A man who recently came over the Great Sierra wagon road reports it to be in execrable condition. It should be kept in tolerable condition if the company wishes to hold it; but as a matter of fact, it should belong to the Government and be kept in prime order, as an eastern outlet to Yosemite Park."24 Despite its poor condition, some traffic was using the road. One party recommended the use of a light wagon, calling the road· very rough in places,· but not impassable. Another stated that in the worst places, horses could be unhitched, and the wagon maneuvered across with a block-and-tackle.25 It is safe to say that the early users never imagined the present congestion on the road.

The Great Sierra Wagon Road, by this time known as the Tioga Road, was in worse condition by 1896, when Lt. Col. S. B. M. Young of the Fourth Cavalry, Acting Superintendent of Yosemite National Park, described it in his annual report to the Secretary of the Interior:
 * ...the Tioga Road has fallen into such bad repair as to be no longer passable by wagon. It leads eastward, as shown on the map, from a point 1 mile south of Ackersons, in township 1 south range 19 east, through township 1 south, in ranges 20, 21, 22, 23, and into 24 east, thence north through Tioga Pass, on to the summit of the Sierras at an altitude of about 9,000 feet.26 It has been abandoned by the owners, and so far as i can learn no repairs have been made on it since the park was established. The road leads through nature's ideal park, and should be repaired and kept in