California’s growth after the gold rush and the completion of the transcontinental railway accelerated demand for natural resources from the Sierra Nevada mountains. The City of San Francisco, in particular, reached into the Sierra Nevada initially for wood to house its expanding population. After the 1906 earthquake and related fire exposed the vulnerability of the city’s water supply, San Francisco moved aggressively to tap the fresh water flowing from Yosemite’s highest alpine peaks through the Hetch Hetchy Valley.
Click and drag the circle at the center of the photos left and right to compare the then and now images.
Left image
Automobiles await passengers at the El Portal Train Depot.
Credit: Photographer: Unknown; Yosemite NP Archives RL_01839
Right image
The El Portal Store and gas station replaced the train depot.
Credit: NPS Photo / Ted Barone 2021
El Portal Depot, ca. 1920s
Opened in 1907, the Yosemite Valley Railroad Company operated the 78 miles through the winding Merced River canyon between Merced Falls and El Portal. The company had eight locomotives, 280 freight cars, and eight passenger cars. The railroad carried tourists to El Portal where they were then transported initially by wagon and then by auto stages into the park.
Passenger business dropped precipitously in 1926 when Highway 140, the "all-year highway," was built along the Merced River, running opposite from the railroad tracks. The railway continued, carrying mostly freight until the end of its run in 1945.
Left image
Hetch Hetchy Valley before the O'Shaughnessy Dam was built.
Credit: Photographer: Unknown; Yosemite NP Archives RL_15688
Right image
The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir at the O'Shaughnessy Dam.
Credit: NPS Photo / Ted Barone 2021
Hetch Hetchy Valley and Wapama Falls, ca. 1920
Hetch Hetchy Valley’s ecological composition and distribution of major vegetation was nearly identical to Yosemite Valley, seventeen miles to the south. It was likely influenced by early human activity, potentially for thousands of years. The Native Americans Indians in residence used fire to keep grasses short to facilitate hunting and acorn collection. Plant foods were plentiful as was game for food, clothing, and ornamentation. Fibers such as grasses, sedges, and roots, were used for baskets. It’s location and elevation provided cooler habitation during summers and moderate temperatures during winters. When John Muir first visited and described Hetch Hetchy in 1872-3, the valley was far from pristine as it had already been influenced not only by the Native American Indians but later by resource extraction, sheep and cattle herding. Nevertheless, Muir drew the inevitable comparison with its counterpart to the south, writing, “I have always called it the Tuolumne Yosemite, for it is a wonderfully exact counterpart of the great Yosemite, not only in its crystal river and sublime rocks and waterfalls, but in the gardens, groves, and meadows of its flowery park-like floor.
Left image
A Buick is parked in the meadow in front of Wapama Falls.
Credit: Photographer: Unknown; Yosemite NP Archives RL_02431
Right image
Today, the meadow is submerged under the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.
Credit: NPS Photo / Ted Barone 2021
Buick in Hetch Hetchy, ca. 1925
San Francisco and the Bay Area grew dramatically during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It turned to the Sierra Nevada to quench it’s thirst for water, minerals, timber, and food. San Francisco Mayor James Phelan filed for water rights in Hetch Hetchy Valley in 1901. He was denied because of the valley’s location within National Park boundaries. The 1906 earthquake and fire were used as justifications for a new water source highlighted the city’s need for a reliable water source. Congressman John Raker introduced the act that authorized the dam and also led to the establishment of Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Left image
The motor rail car travels towards Hetch Hetchy Valley.
Credit: Photographer: Unknown; Yosemite NP Archives RL_01840
Right image
The road to the O'Shaughnessy Dam has replaced the railroad tracks.
Credit: NPS Photo / Ted Barone 2021
Motor Rail Car at Hetch Hetchy, ca. 1930
Construction on the O’Shaughnessy dam began in 1919, along with a construction camp for up to 500 workers. The Hetch Hetchy Railroad was built to connect the valley and the Ttown of Groveland, 25 miles to the west, to move men and materials year-round. The O’Shaughnessy dam was completed in 1923. A roadway was promised around the lake for tourism, but it was never completed.The first water didn’t arrive to San Francisco until 1934, after numerous delays. Today, over 260 million gallons of water flow every day through 280 miles of pipeline, 60 miles of tunnel, and eleven reservoirs. Three hydroelectric facilities generate 1.6 billion kWh of power each year.
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