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1907 Arthur C. Pillsbury Photograph of Arch Rock, Yosemite Stage Road
ArchRockStageRoad-pillsbury-1907$550.00
Title
Arch Rock on Stage Road to Yosemite National Park Reached by Yosemite Valley Railroad.
1907 (dated) 9.25 x 35.25 in (23.495 x 89.535 cm)
1907 (dated) 9.25 x 35.25 in (23.495 x 89.535 cm)
Description
This is a 1907 Arthur C. Pillsbury photograph of horse-drawn coaches ferrying visitors from the Yosemite Valley Railroad station at El Portal to Yosemite National Park. The coaches pass through Arch Rock, the park entrance. This photo was taken within months of the Yosemite Valley Railroad's first passenger trip on May 15, 1907. Before the advent of the Yosemite Valley Railroad, visitors to Yosemite had to suffer through 2 days of grueling travel over rutted roads in a cramped stagecoach. The railroad cut the travel time to between 8 and 9 hours and provided relative comfort.
Yosemite Valley Railroad
The Yosemite Valley Railroad (1907 - 1945) was incorporated in December 1902, but grading for the railroad did not begin until September 1905. The railroad ran from Merced along the Merced River to El Portal, just outside Yosemite National Park. The first passenger train arrived in El Portal on May 15, 1907. After arriving, passengers typically stayed the night at the tent-park Hotel Del Portal. Then, they took a horse-drawn stage (or car) to the park the following morning. While the railroad's original purpose was to take passengers to Yosemite, it also provided freight services for regional loggers and miners. Pullman Service from San Francisco and Los Angeles began in 1909, with the sleeper cars being transferred from either the Southern Pacific or the Santa Fe railroads to the Yosemite Valley. By the mid-1920s, passenger service declined by over 80% due to the 1926 completion of the Yosemite All-Year Highway (State Route 140). The Great Depression and the increased popularity of private cars continued to push down ridership, and World War II (1939 - 1945) ended Pullman Service to Yosemite. The Yosemite Sugar Pine Lumber Company closed in 1942, and due to changes in service, the Yosemite Valley lost its contract with the U.S. Postal Service. The railroad suffered a critical blow in June 1944 when it lost its contract with the Yosemite Portland Cement Company. The Yosemite Valley Railroad's last scheduled run was on August 24, 1945.Publication History and Census
This photograph was copyrighted by the Pillsbury Photo Company and taken by Arthur C. Pillsbury within a few months of the inaugural run of the Yosemite Valley Railroad. We note a single cataloged example, which is part of the collection at the Library of Congress.Cartographer
Arthur Clarence Pillsbury (October 9, 1870 - March 5, 1946) was an American photographer, inventor, cinematographer, and public speaker. Born in Medford, Massachusetts, Pillsbury was the son of physicians. The family moved to California in 1883 due to the health of Pillsbury's older sister. Pillsbury attended Stanford University, where he studied mechanical engineering and invented the first panorama camera in 1897 as his senior project, against his professor's advice. He paid college expenses by running a bicycle shop. He subsequently quit school and went to Alaska to photograph the Yukon Gold Rush, spending part of 1898 at this task and returning in 1899 and possibly again in 1900. After his time in Alaska, Pillsbury started a photographic business in Seattle before moving to Los Angeles for a short time. By 1903 he was in San Francisco working as a photojournalist for the San Francisco Chronicle. He worked for the Chronicle until March 1906, when he founded the Pillsbury Picture Company. A month later, San Francisco suffered the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. Pillsbury still had his press pass and spent the next few days and weeks photographing the destruction and the beginning of the recovery effort. In 1908, Pillsbury photographed the Great White Fleet entering San Francisco Bay. In 1909, Pillsbury's life-long fascination with Yosemite began, and he spent the rest of his life as Yosemite's unofficial and official photographer. He built the first time-lapse camera in 1912 and used it to record the blooming of flowers. He spent the rest of his life photographing Yosemite and the wilds of California. He married Ethel Banfield Deuel in April 1906. Pillsbury adopted his brother's 6 children after their parents died in an automobile accident in 1911, but his wife wanted no part in raising the children. More by this mapmaker...
Condition
Good. Some edge wear and chipping.
References
Library of Congress Call Number: PAN US GEOG - California no. 281 (E size) [P and P].