(L-R) Assemblyman Frank Bigelow and Robert Hanna, the great-great grandson of John Muir
April 22, 2016 - On April 21, 2016 Assemblyman Frank Bigelow introduced ACR 174 designating a section of Highway 41 the Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Highway. The specified portion of State Highway Route 41 would run from the Mariposa-Madera county line to the entrance of Yosemite National Park.
The following is the text of ACR 174
California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session
Assembly Concurrent ResolutionNo. 174
Introduced by Assembly Member Bigelow
April 21, 2016
Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 174—Relative to the Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Highway.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
ACR 174, as introduced, Bigelow. Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Highway.This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 41 from the Mariposa-Madera county line to the entrance of Yosemite National Park as the Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Highway. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering the cost, to erect those signs.
Fiscal committee: yes.
P1 1WHEREAS, In 1866, the United States Congress created six
2segregated regiments that were ultimately consolidated into four
3African American regiments: the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the
424th and 25th Infantry; and
5WHEREAS, African American army regiments that had been
6dispatched westward fought in the Indian Wars and these soldiers
7were eventually given the name Buffalo Soldiers by the Cheyenne
8and other Plains Indians; and
P2 1WHEREAS, Although historians have recorded the service of
2these Buffalo Soldiers on the western frontier, their service in some
3national parks has been nearly forgotten; and
4WHEREAS, The United States Army served as the official
5administrator of Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks between
61891 and 1913. In that capacity, it helped create a model for park
7management as we know it today; and
8WHEREAS, Buffalo Soldiers were among the first park rangers
9and back country rangers patrolling parts of the west; and
10WHEREAS, Approximately 500 Buffalo Soldiers, mainly from
11the 24th Infantry and 9th Cavalry, served in Yosemite National
12Park and Sequoia National Park. Their duties ranged from evicting
13poachers and timber thieves to extinguishing forest fires. They
14also oversaw the construction of roads, trails, and other
15infrastructure; and
16WHEREAS, Commanding officers of the United States Army
17became acting military superintendents for these national parks
18with two troops of cavalry assigned to each park. Each troop was
19made up of approximately 60 men; and
20WHEREAS, The presence of these troops invigorated the local
21economy and the soldiers acting as official stewards of park lands
22brought a sense of law and order to the mountain wilderness; and
23WHEREAS, Among their many accomplishments, the troops
24assigned to Yosemite National Park oversaw the building of an
25arboretum near the south fork of the Merced River in 1904. One
26scholar considered the area to contain the first marked nature trail
27in the United States’ national park system; now, therefore, be it
28Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
29thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates that
30portion of State Highway Route 41 from post mile 1.841 at the
31Mariposa-Madera county line to post mile 4.918 at the entrance
32to Yosemite National Park, as the Buffalo Soldiers Memorial
33Highway; and be it further
34Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested
35to determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with the
36signing requirements for the state highway system showing this
37special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate
38sources sufficient to cover that cost, to erect those signs; and be it
39further
P3 1Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
2of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author
3for appropriate distribution.
