James Garfield, as Civil War General. No pictures of his trip to Yosemite have survived, but based on his diary it is hard to imagine he would have supported damming Hetch Hetchy Valley.
Reminder: Restore Hetch Hetchy is a nonpartisan organization. We stand willing to work in good faith with anyone to return Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park to its natural splendor.
Politics can change quickly. In the mid-term election on November 3rd, the electorate rejected the party in power amidst economic woes and allegations of corruption. The 2026 vote count is not final, but Democrats are projected to gain 50 seats in the House of Representatives – about 11% of all 435 members.
It’s happened before. In 1874, the economy was in shambles and President Grant’s administration faced a variety of scandals. In the mid-terms, Democrats gained 94 seats when there were only 293 members in all – 32% of the total. So the flip of the house in 1874 was three times as large as it was in 2026 (although the Republicans did hold onto the Senate).
We are hopeful that the 120th Congress, when seated in January, will take an interest in the opportunity to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. It is time. After all:
- San Francisco’s demand for water is down;
- An independent statewide poll shows Californians overwhelmingly support restoration (as long as San Francisco gets the water it needs); and
- More and more environmental groups are supporting action to restore Hetch Hetchy.
But back to 1874. As we posted in Lusty Vigor 4 years ago, Republican Congressman James Garfield retained his seat but lost his chairmanship of the Appropriation Committee when the House flipped. Congress would not reconvene until December 1875. In May he embarked on a trip west, taking the still new transcontinental railroad to California and to see the Yosemite that he had heard so much about.
Garfield wrote almost daily in his diary, talking about the train trip across the west, his personal medical challenges and attempts to visit with his old Civil War comrade General Rosecrans (fifth cousin, thrice removed of Restore Hetch Hetchy Executive Director Spreck Rosekrans). Garfield’s most compelling diary entries, however, are from his travels to Yosemite:
On May 14 Garfield and his party rode horses into the Mariposa Grove. He was happy the trees were named “Sequoias Giganteas” – an Indian word – rather than “Wellingtonian” which English Botanists had proposed. Noting the size of the sequoias, Garfield wrote “Our 18 horses, standing nose to tail, complete the circle around the Grizzly Giant, as near as we can reach the roots!” He then waxes philosophic “To look upon a tree that antedates the Christian Era; that was in lusty vigor when Rome was founded; that is older than the Iliad–is a thing not to be passed over lightly. I came down from the mountain feeling as though I had communed with the monarchs of the classic days.”
Garfield spent the next 5 nights at a hotel in Yosemite Valley. He marveled at its waterfalls and El Capitan, and took day trips to Mirror Lake, Glacier Point and Nevada Falls. At the end of this visit, Garfield wrote “I would only say in conclusion, that it is one of the few things I have ever examined which has not been overpraised. All description fails adequately to exhibit its greatness. Its language addressed the Eye and the mind, more than the Ear.”
Like so many of us, Garfield was entirely captivated by Yosemite. It is hard to imagine he would support leaving a dam in one of its glacier carved valleys. .
Unfortunately, James Garfield is no longer with us. Many elected officials understand the opportunity at hand to restore Hetch Hetchy to its natural splendor. Who will step forward to make it happen?