Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
On August 20, 1924, George F. Schwarz of New York purchased 157 acres of redwoods and deeded them to the State of California. This tract was dedicated in honor of Henry S. Graves, former Chief Forester of the United States Forest Service. Schwarz followed his initial gift by the purchase of two adjoining 130-acre parcels, on the Pacific, which were gift-deeded to California in April 1926. The park area was increased by a generous gift from George O. Knapp of Santa Barbara. The Knapp purchase (331 acres) was to the north and south of the Graves Grove, to make certain that no trees would be felled and destroy the natural beauty of the approaches. A government tract of 80 acres, near the Graves Grove, was transferred to the state in the same year. Two tracts, one of 40 acres and the other of 1,568 acres, were purchased by the Save-the-Redwoods League and the State of California and added to the park in 1930. Within six years the park had been expanded to a total acreage of 2,306.
Since 1931, other organizations and corporations, spearheaded always by the Save-the-Redwoods League, succeeded in increasing the park acreage to 6,375 acres. The latest acquisition was a gift-deed for 160 acres made by the Save-the-Redwoods League on March 22, 1966. The largest single acquisition was the 3,030 acres gift-deeded on January 27, 1942, by the North Coast Redwood Co. In the period, 1929-1966, the Save-the-Redwoods League deeded 1,595 acres to the park.
Development in the park features four trails (Footsteps Rock, Damnation, Last Chance, and Mill Creek), and the $1,600,000 Mill Creek Camp Ground. The camp ground and its access road were completed on November 9, 1967, and opened on November 24. The formal dedication was on May 11, 1968.
