California Big Trees State Park

In the spring of 1852, while hunting, Augustus T. Dowd discovered a grove of immense trees now known as the Calaveras North Grove. Several stockholders of the Union Water Company, who employed him as a hunter, planned to exhibit in New York and other cities a piece of the largest tree. Many people, including Dowd, were outraged when the tree was cut down. After it was felled, sections of bark and a slab were shipped to New York City, but the promotion failed. The stump and remaining log then became a tourist attraction: the stump served as a dance floor and later as the foundation for a pavilion, while a bowling alley and bar were built on top of the log. The stump remains an attraction for thousands of park visitors each year and stands as a testament to the longevity of these redwood trees, with both stump and log still present after more than 150 years.

California · United States