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San Francisco Fire
The fire in San Francisco started in Dennisons exchange and consumed nearly the whole square and the line of buildings on the south side of washington street. This fire was followed by more disasterous fires within a couple weeks after. -
Gifford Pinochet
He fell in love with the area. He claimed it for his own - in 1850 - a year before the first white pioneers entered nearby Yosemite Valley. -
First Proposal
San Francisco Mayor James Phelan first proposes damming the Hetch Hetchy Valley to create a reservoir for San Francisco. He was denied. -
The sierra club
The sierra club was formed in 1892. From 1901 - 1913, John Muir led the Sierra Club in a campaign to protect the Hetch Hetchy Valley from being filled by a reservoir. The club looked for resolutions to write to the Senators. -
San Francisco Earthquake
This earthquake lasted less than a minute, but was extremely dangerous. The earthquake ignited several fires around the city that burned consecutively, for three days and destroyed 500 city blocks. -
The building of the dam
Congress debated whether to make a water resource available or preserve a wilderness when the growing city of San Francisco. To do this, California proposed building a dam to maintain the water supply. It was debated if the environment should be left from human interference or if human interference would benefit and not hurt the land. -
John Muir
John Muir contested the building of the hetch hetchy dam. John Muir did not testify before Congress, but he argued against the Hetch Hetchy plan in this excerpt from his 1912 book, The Yosemite. -
Woodrow Wilson
Congress passed legislation that enabled the creation of a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley. President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill into law on December 19, 1913. -
The Approval
The approval to build a dam in hetch hetchy was requested by John Muir. Shortly after the last sierra club outing he passed away. -
The Raker Act
The Raker Act is the bill that let the building of a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley occur. The Raker Act was highly controversial and the points of view that were argued on both sides of the controversy are valuable perspectives that are still relevant today. -
Funding
San Francisco voters approve a bond proposition for $10 million to pay for a series of tunnels that would deliver water through the Sierra and Coast Range mountains. -
Hetch Hetchy Task Force
The Sierra Club's California/Nevada Regional Conservation Committee establishes a Hetch Hetchy Task Force with Ron Good as chair. -
Current Status
Currently there are still advocates for the restoration of hetch hetchy. There is a pending lawsuit that is waiting for a hearing.
