Giant Sequoias

The giant sequoias of The Sierra Nevada are the largest trees in the world. Located along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains, the largest of these giants have no match in height or girth They often grow for thousands of years, making them among the oldest living things on earth. California has two species of sequoias: the coastal sequoia of Northern California, and the giant sequoia of the High Sierra.

In 1852, a story trickled down from the gold fields of the Sierras about the discovery of trees even larger than the coastal sequoia. A hunter, AT. Dowd, stumbled onto the Calaveras Big Trees near Murphey's Camp, and soon newspapers across the country carried the story. Although pioneers had made a few sightings of other groves in previous years, it was Dowd's discovery that brought the Sierra sequoias to the attention of the world.

The giants have thick, fibrous bark. Some have bark up to two feet thick. Redwood bark is resistant to insects, and affords some protection from fire damage. Root systems of the giant trees are amazingly shallow, usually penetrating only up to six feet. However, the lateral spread may reach 300 feet.

Chicago Stump
After Dowd's discovery, curious spectators made the journey to see the giant trees for themselves. Seeing the financial possibilities, a number of enterprising promoters started cutting down the larger trees for public exposition. They soon discovered that larger sections of the enormous trees were too heavy to move, so they cut the trunks into smaller cross-sections or even just sections of the thick bark. One of these Nested giants, the General Noble tree, was cut and a section of its bark sent to the 1895 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The tree was first cut off at a height of 50 feet and the stump hollowed. Fourteen foot long by six inch thick exterior sections with the bark still attached were then carefully removed, marked for reassembly, and shipped to Chicago. Visitors can view the 20 foot remaining stump on the Hume Lake Ranger District.

Early Sierra Sequoia Logging
When loggers started commercial logging of Sierra sequoias in the 1800s, they expected an incredible amount of timber volume from each tree. However, their age and size made the trees extremely brittle. Trees often shattered upon impact when felled. Many of the pieces were still too big to handle so they dynamited the huge chunks into more manageable sizes. Transport from remote areas was expensive. Whole groves were decimated before it was realized that harvesting the mature sequoias bore no major financial gain.

One of the most extensive sequoia logging operations took place in the Converse Basin. In the 1880s, the Kings River Lumber Company bought up tens of thousands of acres of forest and announced their plans for a massive logging operation. They planned two sawmills to be built in the mountains and a lengthy flume system to connect the mills with the railroad in the San Joaquin Valley. In 1889, the mills became operational, and work began on the flume. They completed a total of 54 miles in 1891. As logging operations increased, other equipment was introduced, including a narrow-gauge railroad and steam-driven Dolbeer donkeys.

Following a financial recession, the company reorganized into the Sanger Lumber Company. To meet increasing operating expenses, they planned a sawmill in the nearby Converse Basin area and harvest of the giant sequoias. In 1897, operations began at the new mill. By 1908, they had thoroughly logged the area. High operation costs were never offset by the value of the lumber produced.

Boole Tree
In 1903, as logging activity still continued on Converse Mountain, word spread throughout the camps about a sequoia to dwarf all others. This tree soon became an attraction. Tourists and lumbermen alike traveled the distance to see it. At 269 feet in height, 112 feet in circumference, and 35 feet in base diameter, the tree turned out to be the third largest sequoia known to exist. It was named"Boole" after Frank Boole, the general manager of the Sanger Lumber Company. Spared the fate of its neighbors the Boole Tree still stands today on the Hume Lake Ranger District.

In 1905, wealthy Michigan lumberman Thomas Hume backed Ira Bennett in his bid to buy the Sanger Lumber Company. In 1908, the new Hume-Bennett Lumber Company began building a dam east of Converse Basin, the first step to moving logging operations out of what had been the largest sequoia grove. Although loggers continued to harvest sequoias in the years to come, the numbers of giants cut would never come close to those in Converse Basin.

A New Beginning
Today, the USDA Forest Service manages the giant sequoias. Natural tannins make the wood quite resistant to decay, and it is possible to see many stumps and chunks of the trees throughout much of the Forest. Today the ancient giants are no longer under threat of harvest. The best way to grasp the extent of the historical logging operation is to walk in the Converse Basin area. Quite a few mature sequoia trees and a number of groves exist throughout the Hume Lake Ranger District.

Converse Basin

Why Is Converse Basin Significant?
At nearly 3,000 acres, Converse is one of the largest giant sequoia groves. Before it came under USDA Forest Service management in the 1930s, almost all of the large trees were cut during the turn-of-the-century logging operations.

The only specimen tree remaining is the 268 foot tall Boole Tree, the largest tree in the National Forests. Ironically, that tree was named for Frank A. Boole, Superintendent at Converse Basin Mill, who supervised the cutting of the grove.

Because of the early logging, Converse offers a unique opportunity to observe giant sequoia growth. Nowhere else, is it possible to study such a large area of second-growth giant sequoia. During the private logging operations, much of the ground in the grove was significantly disturbed, and the canopy was opened providing excellent growing conditions. The sequoia must have ground disturbance to germinate and cannot be shaded if the seedling is to survive.

Over the last 100 years, these young, second growth trees have grown well. Some have reached diameters of 24 inches or more. In one year, it is not unusual for a young giant sequoia growing in optimum conditions, to gain as much as an inch in diameter and one to two feet in height.

It is also possible here to study the interaction of fire and second-growth. The 17,580-acre McGee Fire burned through Converse Basin in 1955. After the fire, giant sequoia seeds quickly germinated and grew, creating additional vigorous young growth. An overlook along State California Highway 180 gives a good view of the fire area, and a sign there explains what happened during the fire.

What Will You See?

Stump Meadow: The stumps here present an awesome view of the destruction that occurred in Converse Basin. As many as 70 sequoias were removed from this site. Young sequoias are visible around the edge and at higher spots in the meadow. Why haven't more sequoias grown back in the meadow itself? While not fully understood, it is possible that the water table rose in the meadow after the large sequoias were cut. A single, mature giant sequoia can draw as much as 137,000 gallons of water out of the soil during a normal growing season. With the trees gone, much of the meadow is too wet for seedlings to become established. Soil moisture limits gas exchanges from the roots and encourages damping off, killing the young trees at soil level.

Boole Tree: Located in the northeast comer of the grove, the Boole Tree is the last of the huge giant sequoias that had grown until the 1890s in Converse Basin. It is the largest tree in the National Forests and is recognized as one of the largest trees in the world. It stands 269 feet tall and has a diameter of 35 feet. A trail of moderate difficulty leads from the road up to the tree and back to the road.

Hume Lake Dam

Hume-Bennett Lumber Company created Hume Lake as an 87 acre log holding pond in the early 1900s. The general area was the scene of extensive commercial logging since the 1880s, and by 1908, the lumber people were looking for new timber stands to harvest. They found good trees a few miles to the east of the Converse Basin near Long Meadow, and soon established a large sawmill complex.

The first step to moving logging operations was to build a reservoir for log storage, an earlier hindrance of mills at the Millwood and Converse Basin. The lake provided a year-round water source for a 17-mile extension of the lumber-carrying flume to the yards in Sanger in the San Joaquin Valley. However, builders expected construction costs of a dam to be high due to the transportation of equipment and supplies over questionable roads.

Taking into account the need to conserve materials without sacrificing strength, John S. Eastman, an engineer hired by the Hume-Bennett Lumber Company, designed an innovative multiple-arch dam. The first such reinforced concrete dam built in the U.S., the finished dam was 677 feet long and consisted of 12 arches with the upstream faces sloped so water pressure exerted downwards kept the dam stable. The amount of concrete needed for this type of dam was much less than for a conventional single-arch dam.

Construction on the dam began in June 1908. Working dawn to dusk, seven days a week, the crews finished the dam 114 days later. The final cost was $46,541, much less than a filled dam cost. The finished dam is 61 feet high, and contains 8 miles of steel cable reinforcing 2201 cubic yards of concrete.

At the same time, work began on the three story high mill complex below the dam Two huge drying kilns were built below the mill to cure the newly-cut lumber. By 1910, the mill complex included a boiler house, power house and foundry. Nearby they built a community consisting of a housing complex, dining hall, post office and hospital.

Equipment from other mills on the Converse Basin moved in despite heavy loads and rough roads. A Shay locomotive engine used a network of railroad lines laid out from the new Hume Lake Mill. Logging of the surrounding terrain started in earnest, but despite steady activity, the revenue earned never offset the expenses of the venture. Poor lumber markets aided by the high maintenance costs of the flume chipped away at the profits. By 1917, the business was barely surviving when World War I took the hardiest loggers and reduced the work force by 40 percent. Violent union organizers were threatening the company when in November 1917, a mysterious fire leveled the mill and most of the outbuildings. A small outdoor circular mill was built in 1918, but the war-time recession caused a further slump in lumber markets. The reorganized company soon saw the need to sell off its holdings.

Although several business interests and the National Park Service showed interest in acquiring the land, it wasn't until 1927 that a buyer was found. E.M. "Ned" Prescott operated the business for several years. A series of bad luck, the loss of the Sanger yards and the upper flume to fires, and the devastating effects of the 1929 depression, helped destroy any remaining hopes for a successful Hume Lake lumber concern. On April 8, 1935, the U.S.D.A. Forest Service purchased 20,000+ acres, including Hume Lake, Converse Basin, and the surrounding lands, for $319,276.75.

Today, Hume Lake is the scene of diverse recreation activity. Fishing, swimming, and non-motorized boating are popular. The west shore has a 75-unit family campground on the site of the Hume Lake sawmill community. You may find old foundations and artifacts throughout the area.

Take special care below the dam where slippery rocks are extremely dangerous. Please remember federal law protects ALL historic features and artifacts. We appreciate your help in protecting these resources for future generations.

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