Jessie Benton Fremont

The influence of women in the development of the U.S. National Parks has often been overlooked. During the era when parks were established, women did not have a vote or were not in positions where their actions were on the public record. Such is the story of Jessie Benton Fremont, who through her personal correspondence and invitations to influential people to visit and see Yosemite, was able to inspire efforts to preserve and protect what constitutes the heart of Yosemite National Park. Jessie was the strikingly beautiful and brilliant Republican daughter of one of the most powerful Democratic senators of the mid-19th century. She and her dashing husband, explorer John C. Fremont, were as famous as Jackie and JFK in their times. In reality, she was the intellectual force behind Fremont's fame and she used her influence to convince many who came to visit their home near Yosemite that Yosemite Valley and the Giant Sequoias should be preserved. Such luminaries of the age including Horace Greeley; Thomas Starr King; Richard Henry Dana, Jr.; Carleton Watkins; and U.S. Senator Edward Baker became convinced by Jessie to lobby Congress and President Abraham Lincoln to set aside Yosemite and its giant Sequoias. Historian Craig MacDonald asked recently, "If not for what she did behind the scene, would there be a Yosemite National Park today, would John Muir have been drawn to the valley because of the attention given it by its protection, would there even have been the foundation necessary to lead to establishing national parks?" Many of the men who were influenced by Jessie Benton Fremont to act are remembered by Yosemite peaks that have been named after them, but not Jessie. She brokered power and influence, but sought no recognition in return. Used with permission from National Parks Promotion Council