For The Enjoyment Of All

President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill preserving Yosemite June 30th 1864.
Senator John Conness of California was encouraged by some prominent men such as Frederick Law Olmsted the landscape architect, to preserve Yosemite. On June 30th 1864 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Valley Grant Act, Senate Bill 203 granting the lands of Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias to be placed under the protection of the State of California for the use of resort and recreation of the public for all time. This was the first time the Government set aside land and protected them for the enjoyment of all the people.
It would become a national park October 1st 1890.