Through his widely read magazine articles, naturalist John Muir became
the nation's best-known advocate for the Sierra Nevada. In 1892, he and
a number of prominent Californians incorporated the Sierra Club, whose
purposes were: To explore, enjoy, and render accissible the mountain
regions of the Pacific Coast; to publish authentic information concerning
them; to enlist the support and cooperation of the people and government
in preserving the forest and other natural features of the Sierra Nevada
Mountains.
The infant Club supported the establishment of forest reserves and parks
that would protect scenic resources throughout much of the Sierra Nevada;
conducted surveys of potential long-distance trail routes;appropriated
money for trail improvement and marking; produced a periodic journal (the
Sierra Club Bulletin); and published maps of Yosemite and the KingsRiver
region. Club members pioneered mountaineering routes throughout the Sierra,
inaugurating a climbing tradition that would endure for generations.
| 1838 |
John Muir born April 21 in Dunbar, Scotland. |
| 1890 |
Yosemite, Sequoia, General Grant National Parks established. |
| 1892 |
Sierra Club founded in May (John Muir, president). |
| 1899 |
Century's end balance in Club treasury: $46.05. |
| 1901 |
First Sierra Club outing. |
| 1905 |
Club byloaw amended to allow formation of sections (chapters). |
| 1908 |
Sierra Club membership reaches 1,000. |
| 1911 |
Southern California (Angeles) Chapter organized. |
| 1913 |
Southern California Chapter completes Muir Lodge in Big Santa
Anita Canyon. It was destroyed by flood in 1938. The damming of
Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley was an issue which John Muir and the
parent Club had already long opposed. The controversy peaked when
indignant telegrams flowed from the 1,350 Club members, including
many from the 600 Sierrans in the Southern California Chapter, to
President Wilson and other federal officials in the unsuccessful effort
to block passage of the Raker Bill, which doomed Hetch Hetchy to its
present fate. |
| 1914 |
40 participants from Angeles Chapter ascended Mt. San Gorgonio.
John Muir dies December 24 in Los Angeles. |
| 1916 |
With Club support, National Park Service Act passed by Congress. |
| 1919 |
Stairway to Half Dome summit completed under Sierra Club auspices. |
| 1921 |
Club-supported trail from Yosemite Valley to Park's northern wilderness
partially completed. |
| 1923 |
Evening Dinners Committee founded (disbanded 1997), and Ice Skating
Section founded (disbanded 1987). Sierra Club float appears in the
Rose Parade. |
| 1924 |
San Francisco Bay Chapter organized. |
| 1927 |
Ansel Adams publishes first photo portfolio, The High Sierras. |
| 1930 |
Harwood Lodge, named after Southern California Chapter member
Aurelia Harwood, the first woman president of the Sierra Club, was
constructed two years after her untimely death in office. |
| 1932 |
Riverside Chapter (San Gorgonio) in Southern California is organized.. |
| 1934 |
Rock Climbing Section founded. Clair Tappaan Lodge, at Donner
Summit, constructed and dedicated. |
| 1935 |
Ski Mountaineers Section founded, which built the Mt. San Antonio
Ski Hut. |
| 1936 |
Ansel Adams lobbies Congress on behalf of Kings Canyon NP. Pasadena
Group founded. |
| 1938 |
Keller Peak Ski Hut constructed by the Ski Mountaineers Section. |
| 1939 |
Natural Science Section founded. |
| 1941 |
Long Beach Group founded. |
| 1944 |
Club successfully opposes construction of Kearsarge Pass Road in
Sierra Nevada. |
| 1945 |
Club establishes a Conservation Committee of local activists to
advise Board on policy. This was the first step leading to the creation
of Regional Conservation Committees. |
| 1946 |
The Angeles Chapter's Conservation Committee was organized in
response to both the Palm Springs tramway issue and the Club-s growing
interest in environmental matters. Southern Sierran, the Angeles
Chapter newsletter, first appears. Desert Peaks Section founded. |
| 1948 |
San Diego Chapter established with 53 members. |
| 1949 |
Preliminary edition of A Climber's Guide to the High Sierra
published. |
| 1950 |
Atlantic Chapter established, the first outside California. Great
Lakes Chapter formed, serving 200 members in eight states. |
| 1952 |
Los Padres (Santa Barbara) and Kern-Kaweah (Fresno/Bakersfield)
Chapters established. |
| 1953 |
Tehipite Chapter (Central San Joaquin Valley) established. West
Los Angeles Group founded. |
| 1954 |
Hundred Peaks Section and Local Hikes Committee founded.
Club membership: 8,000. |
| 1955 |
Griffith Park Hikes Committee (Griffith Park Section) founded. |
| 1956 |
Sierra Peaks Section founded. Sierra Club Council created
by vote of membership to deal with internal affairs. |
| 1958 |
Club fails to prevent rerouting of Tioga Road in Yosemite backcountry. |
| 1959 |
Mule Pack Section founded. |
| 1960 |
Sierra Club membership hits 15,000. San Fernando Valley Group
founded. |
| 1961 |
Orange County Group and Basic Mountaineering Training Committee
founded. The BMTC later became the Wilderness Training Committee (WTC). |
| 1962 |
Annual Club dues raised from $7 to $9. |
| 1963 |
Cabrillo Section (disbanded 2001) and East San Gabriel Valley
Group founded. Club opens office in Washington DC. |
| 1964 |
Wilderness Act passes Congress, creating National Wilderness system. |
| 1965 |
Camera Committee and Palos Verdes-South Bay Group founded.
Membership passes 30,000. |
| 1966 |
Club loses tax-deductible status over Grand Canyon ads. |
| 1967 |
Membership passes 57,000. First Sierra Club calendar published. |
| 1968 |
Bicycle Touring Committee and Sierra Singles Section founded.
North Cascades and Redwood National Park, Federal Wid and Scenic Rivers
System founded. |
| 1969 |
River Touring Section founded. First Inner City Outing for
urban youth conducted. Activist news digest, National News Report,
debuts. |
| 1970 |
Club chapters represent members in every state in the U.S. International
Community Section and Rio Hondo Group founded. |
| 1971 |
Airport-Marina, Crescenta Valley, Verdugo Hills Groups founded. |
| 1972 |
Mt. Baldy and High Desert (now Antelope Valley) Groups, and Trails
Committee founded. Western Canada Chapter formed. The last High
Trip to Kings Canyon. |
| 1973 |
Nordic Ski Touring Committee and Santa Clarita Group founded. |
| 1974 |
Backpacking Committee founded. |
| 1975 |
20's-30's Singles Section founded. Membership at 154,000. |
| 1976 |
Sierra Club Political Action Committee organized. |
| 1977 |
Orange County Sierra Singles founded. |
| 1978 |
Establishment of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation
Area ranks as one of the Angeles Chapter's greatest accomplishments. |
| 1979 |
Urban Environment Conference co-sponsored by Sierra Club and National
Urban League. |
| 1981 |
Wilderness Adventures Section and Alpine Ski Mountaineering Committee
founded. Membership passes 200,000 in April, 260,000 by year end. |
| 1982 |
Inner City Outings Committee founded. |
| 1983 |
More than 1,000 attend Sierra Club International Assembly in Snowmass,
Colorado. |
| 1984 |
California Wilderness Act passes Congress. Sheep Mountain Wilderness
created. |
| 1985 |
Recreational Outdoor Accessibility for the Disabled Committee
(ROAD) and Little Hikers Committee founded. |
| 1986 |
Lower Peaks Committee founded. Chino Hills State Park designated. |
| 1987 |
Backroad Explorers Section founded. |
| 1988 |
Gay and Lesbian Sierrans Section founded. John Muir's 150th
birthday. |
| 1990 |
Club-supported bill to limit logging in Alaska's Tongass National
Forest passes. |
| 1991 |
Sierra Student Coalition founded. Cloub helps defeat Johnston-Wallop
energy bill, protects Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. |
| 1992 |
Congress passes Los Padres Condor Range and River Protection Act.
Sespe Wilderness created. |
| 1993 |
Orange County (S) Sierra Sage Group and K-9 Hikers Committee
founded. |
| 1994 |
Central Group founded. California Desert Protection Act passed
after massive Sierra Club effort. Death Valley and Joshua Tree National
Parks, Mojave National Preserve created. |
| 1995 |
Easy Hikers Committee founded. |
| 1998 |
Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park dedicated. |
| 2002 |
Sierra Club membership reaches 750,000, of which 58,000 are Angeles
Chapter members. |
