The influence of Frederick Law Olmsted. on what became the National Park Service is not a significant theme of earlier biographies, but recent books have addressed this topic in more depth. A narrowly focused study is provided by “Olmsted and Yosemite: Civil War, Abolition, and the National Park Idea” by Rolf Diamant and Ethan Carr.
Olmsted wrote in 1865 a report about the newly established Yosemite Park (a state of California entity at the time), laying the guidelines for its future management and, the authors argue, for all national parks.
This book also expands on how Olmsted’s earlier travels in the south fostered his strong belief in the importance of accessible parks for all. A substantial segment of the Yosemite report (using Olmsted’s spelling of the name) is quoted and succinctly summarizes his approach towards all his designs.
“This union of deepest sublimity with the deepest beauty of nature, not in one feature or another, not in one part or one scene or another, not any landscape that can be framed by itself, but all around and wherever the visitor goes, constitute the Yo Semite the greatest glory of nature.”
Excerpted from the Summer 2022 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin