Tag: Stoneman House

Yosemite of Yesteryear – Early Hotels Revisited

Big Trees Lodge (Wawona)

Hotels and other buildings in Yosemite have come and gone during the first 100 years. I have published a number of posts on the subject. In this post offer links to those posts so they may be easily revisited.


The Yosemite of Yesteryear – Part 4 – Glacier Point Hotel & More

Originally, Yosemite was visited by arriving on horseback or (later) by stagecoach. This series of posts reveals details of the early buildings in and around the valley; where they were, who ran them, what was around them. In this post I’ll discuss the Mirror Lake House, the old Glacier Point Hotel, the Lodge at the Falls, and the Ahwahnee.


Yosemite of Yesteryear – Part 3 – Sentinel Hotel, Stoneman Hotel

Autumn Chapel By Jeff Kreider Yosemite

Originally, Yosemite was visited by arriving on horseback or (later) by stagecoach. This series of posts will reveal details of the early buildings in and around the valley; where they were, who ran them, what was around them. In this post, we’ll learn about the Sentinel Hotel, Yosemite Chapel, Stoneman House and Camp Curry (now “Half Dome Village)


John Jay Cook – 1837 – 1904

John Jay Cook

John Jay Cook, the first of a number of family members to be associated with Yosemite, was an entrepreneur who was instrumental with his brother-in-law, Henry Washburn, in building up what is now the Wawona Hotel. But later he and his son, John Bruce Cook, took on management of Black’s Hotel in the Valley Floor and later the Stoneman House (which burnt down in 1896). His grandson was elected to the state house and used his influence to help the family business.

J.J., as he was sometimes called, was born June 4, 1837 in Dutchess County, New York. He……