Yesterday, I got the day off from work and did a day trip to the Three Rivers area. I picked up a Kaweah Commonwealth news paper showing our new advertisement. They did a good job creating the ad telling about Giant Forest Village and our new web site. Our web site shows the Rise and Fall of GFV and promotes joining this group. I wanted to travel part of the old road that the Kaweah Colony made. I found out it goes about 8 miles north of Three Rivers, then turns into a dirt road. Part of the way about 3 miles from Three Rivers has an old Post Office and is still operational. It's in the town of Kaweah and build by the former Kaweah Colonist in the late 1800's. I talked with the lady that works there. She is from Finland and seems to like working there. There is a monument next to the post office that tells about the Kaweah colonists. If you don't remember,they are the ones that partially built the first road to Giant Forest before being ousted by the Calvary Government soldiers guarding the new park in 1890. This road goes thru Sequoia next to Crystal cave and to Giant Forest. I was told yesterday the dirt road closes shortly after it turns to the right and then a person would have to hike to the parks boundry.
The Colonists also build cabins
in Giant Forest and wanted to start a "Utopia" with their socialist group. After the park started, the
government soldiers finished the road,which took 3 years. There is a short story about them in the links section
(100 year celebration of the first road). During this trip, I talked with lots of people about Giant Forest
Village. Most of the people I talked to, don't use computers and the internet. They were interested in Giant
Forest and the former village. The Three Rivers library was closed since its only open (mon-thurs) I was
hoping to see some old books and pictures of Giant Forest. One person I talked to knows Hale Thorpe's (the
first white man to discover Giant Forest) Great-Grandson and said he would ask him to get in contact with me,
using the old fashion way of writing letters. If I get any info, I'll pass it along. Thats about it. If you want to
visit Three Rivers and get something good to eat, try the Cider Mill. I'm sorry this was so long, your patient if
you read to the end.
-D.D.