History of the Yosemite area the Yosemite area in 1863. Pressure from Starr King and Olmsted, photographs by Carleton Watkins, and geological data from the 1863 Geological Survey of California prompted legislators to take action. Senator John Conness of California introduced a park bill in 1864 to the United States Senate to cede Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees to California. The bill easily passed both houses of the United States Congress, and was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on June 30, 1864. The Yosemite Grant, as it was called, was given to California as a state park for "public use, resort
Yosemite Village Historic District or Valley District Building (1926), both designed by Park Service architect Herbert Maier. All are rustic in character. Other buildings in the area include the Pohono Indian Studio (1925), which is used as a gift shop, and the Ansel Adams Gallery, a complex of five buildings incorporating what was first known as Best's Studio. The Yosemite Village district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 1978. Yosemite Village Historic District The Yosemite Village Historic District encompasses the primary built-up section of the Yosemite Valley as it was developed by the National Park Service for Yosemite