Shaping a Park
Call the Cavalry!
The Parker Group owes its name to a cavalry officer who commanded troops here in 1893. Why was the military here? Congress established Sequoia National Park in 1890, but the National Park Service did not exist until 1916. So who could protect Sequoia and our other national parks in the meantime? The U.S. Cavalry.
Every summer from 1891 to 1913, mounted troops guarded these parks. They rode almost 300 miles from their post at the San Francisco Presidio. The cavalry's dual task of guarding the the parks and assisting visitors came with little instruction or funding.
Yet the troopers managed to end serious damage to sensitive alpine meadows by limiting poaching and driving out illegally grazed sheep. They also built roads and trails to provide access for an excited public.
Far from Family
The Parker Group of sequoias honors Captain James Parker and his family. In 1893, as the second military superintendent of Sequoia National Park, Parker commanded Troop B of the 4th Cavalry. For several summers, the troops stayed not far from here at a site called Soldiers Camp.

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Show me all markers in:  Sequoia National Park, CA  |  Tulare County  |  93262  |  California  |  United States of America

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