Historical Aspects of California State Park System

Abstract

The aims to establish the State Park of the United States of America are to offer outdoor recreational opportunities and conservation of natural landscape and historical landmarks. They possess intermidiate characteristic between National Parks which are established for conservation of natural landscape and City-wide Parks which are established for recreational use. The Porpouse of this recearch is to throw light upon the history of the California State Park System that is oldest and best established in U. S. A.
The first California State Park was established in 1864 when Abraham Lincoln signed the Congressionl legislation that gave Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees to the State of California. Later on the State of California successionally set up Big Basin Redwoods State Park for public use, resort and recreation in 1902, and also confirmed the State Park System by establishment of the State Park Commission that provids for a centralized administration for parks land, the making of a survey of park needs and park possibilities, and the establishment of a fundamental state park policy in 1927. After then, the State of California has increased parks, historic parks, and other kinds. Today the State Park System includes some 250 units.
The remarkable characteristic in the history of the California State Park System is continuous activities of many private organizations proceeding campaigns for funds since the biginning, which donate funds and lands to the State.