Andrew P. Hill

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Andrew Putnam Hill (1853-1922) was an early Californian painter and photographer best known for successfully leading an effort in 1901 to save a forest of large redwoods in Big Basin, California.

[edit] Big Basin

The trees, Sequoia Sempervirens, which are the tallest in the world and have life spans greater than 2,000 years, were exposed during a major 1899 fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Los Gatos. Hill, who was serving as a photographer for a London newspaper at the time, photographed the event and, upon returning after the fire for more photographs, learned that the trees were on private property and could be cut down by loggers.

His attention shifted from the Santa Cruz Mountains to Big Basin when it was suggested that the redwoods there were taller and more important. Upon exploration of the area, many prominent locals were impressed and vowed to help Hill save the area. Support came from Santa Clara College's president, Father Kenna, S.J., Stanford University's president, Mr. Jordan, the mayor of San Francisco, California, James D. Phelan, and Carrie Stevens Walter, who later served as secretary of the Sempervirens Club.

After months of lobbying legislators in Sacramento, California and after securing a monetary guarantee from Phelan, a bill that allocated $250,000 to purchase the Big Basin land passed. Supporters secured a second $250,000 from private benefactors and, with the state, created California's first state park, California Redwood Park. Now it is known as Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

Andrew P. Hill High School is a school in San Jose, California named after him.

[edit] Biographical note

Hill, a Protestant who came to California as a youth in 1867, attended Santa Clara College, a small Catholic college near San Jose, California. Although he was a fine drafter, painter, and photographer, he was unable to achieve financial success.

[edit] Notes

Leonard McKay. "ANDREW P. HILL - He saved the Redwoods" published by the Victorian Preservation Association and available online here