[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 3743-3744]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING JESSIE BENTON FREMONT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF DENHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 20, 2012

  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, during Women's History Month, 
to acknowledge and honor the life and legacy of Jessie Benton Fremont, 
a California resident, who helped inspire and lead efforts to preserve 
and protect what is now a very significant part of Yosemite National 
Park.
  Jessie Benton Fremont was born May 31, 1824, near Lexington, Virginia 
to United States Senator Thomas Hart Benton and his wife, Elizabeth. 
Her father, a Senator from Missouri, was very influential in the 
development of her independent and visionary nature. While in 
Washington, Mrs. Fremont met her husband, United States Army Lieutenant 
John Charles Fremont. John Fremont became a great explorer of the 
Western United States after he was assigned to lead expeditions 
reaching from the Midwest to California.
  In the late 1850s, the Fremonts and their children settled in Bear 
Valley, near Mariposa, California. While living there, Mrs. Fremont 
fell in love with Yosemite Valley. Like all who view the valley for the 
first time, she was awestruck by the grand rock formations, Giant 
Sequoia trees, waterfalls, and impressive scenery. She shared her love 
for Yosemite Valley with those who visited her home. She took visitors 
on tours and hosted afternoon teas and Sunday dinners at her Bear 
Valley and Black Point homes for well-known authors, editors, 
photographers, and military and political leaders. Some of her guests 
included Horace Greeley, Thomas Starr King, Carleton Watkins, Richard 
Henry Dana, Jr., and United States Senator Edward Baker of Oregon.

[[Page 3744]]

  During these social gatherings, Mrs. Fremont shared her concern for 
the need to preserve Yosemite Valley and the Giant Sequoias. Many of 
her friends and acquaintances joined her effort to lobby Congress and 
President Abraham Lincoln to protect Yosemite Valley and what would 
later become known as the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.
  Mrs. Fremont's passionate leadership in preserving Yosemite Valley 
was an instrumental first step in a long chain of activism that 
resulted in designating the land as a National Park. In 1864, Mrs. 
Fremont and her associates encouraged their friend, Israel Ward 
Raymond, to send United States Senator John Conness of California 
photographs and a letter asking Congress to pass a bill to protect 
Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. Their 
successful effort culminated on June 30, 1864, when President Abraham 
Lincoln signed an Act of Congress that granted Yosemite Valley and the 
Mariposa Grove to the State of California. This was the first time the 
national government set aside scenic lands for future generations.
  The Yosemite Grant gave the State of California 36,111 acres of 
Yosemite Valley and 2,500 acres that contained the Mariposa Grove of 
Giant Sequoias. The establishment of this grant was significant in 
preserving Yosemite for activists like John Muir, who first visited 
Yosemite in 1868 and subsequently led a 20-year campaign to establish 
the area outside the existing park as Yosemite National Park.
  Jessie Benton Fremont passed away December 27, 1902. Less than four 
years later, Yosemite National Park was established as it is today. One 
hundred ten years after her death, Yosemite National Park remains the 
crown jewel of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. Both the Park and 
the Mariposa Grove are visited by upwards of 4 million tourists per 
year, who come to enjoy the awe-inspiring vistas, waterfalls, glaciers, 
meadows, rock faces, and Giant Sequoia trees.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in posthumously honoring Jessie Benton 
Fremont for her unwavering leadership and activism to preserve the 
beauty and grandeur of Yosemite Valley for generations to come. Her 
legacy serves as an example of excellence, and her accomplishments and 
contributions to Yosemite National Park will never be forgotten.

                          ____________________