Passage IV

Captain Charles Young’s Road to the Giant Sequoias

Able to grow as tall as a twenty-six-story building and as wide as a city street, Earth has the largest living things, which are giant sequoia trees. Sequoia National Park in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range contains 275 known caves. Yet until 1903, few visitors could gain access to the trees in the park's Giant Forest: there was no completed road.

The US Army—which from 1891 to 1913 was responsible for improving national parks during the summer months—had managed to complete only about six miles to the road of the Giant Forest. Army Captain Charles Young, however, was not deterred. The first black superintendent of a national park and a revered leader of the army's all-black 9th and 10th Cavalries, Young had the experience needed to direct the completion of the project.

In June 1903, under Young's command, the soldiers began work on the road. Soon the eleven-mile route was complete. By the middle of August, vehicles could enter the park. Young and his troops had succeeded where no one else had; they enabled visitors to get to the giant sequoias more easily.

Because he had his troops send most of their efforts into the road, Young was just as concerned with maintaining the park's natural features. His troops guarded the grounds against illegal grazing, poaching, and logging. Nevertheless, since tourist foot traffic tended to damage some of the giant sequoias, Young had his soldiers place fences around the most damaged trees to protect them from future bad stuff.

Over one hundred years later, the contributions Young made possible has been counted among the most significant in the park's history. (57) In 2003, the National Park Service decided to formally recognize the efforts of Captain Young (who being promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1916). Today, those who visit the park use Young's road to reach the Giant Forest, which is home to General Sherman, the world’s largest tree.