The Forest King was a giant sequoia tree located in Nelder Grove, California that was cut down in 1870 and taken on a touring exhibit in the United States. This tree was the first of its kind to be felled for exhibition, unlike earlier trees such as the Mother of the Forest from Calaveras Grove where only bark was removed.[1] This act sparked public outcry and would lead to the founding of national parks and the protection of giant sequoias through the nascent conservation movement.
Two men from Mariposa County, William Sneidiker and William Stegman, illegally cut down the tree and put it on the road. They hoped to take advantage of the public's interest in the discovery of California big trees before photography was widely available to document their existence.
The tree was first shown in Stockton, California before touring major cities such as Chicago, Cincinnati, and New York City by rail. In 1870, P.T. Barnum, the renowned showman, acquired the tree and added it to his New York attraction. In 1874, Barnum gifted the tree to Frank Leslie, a publisher and journalist, who installed it on his property, Interlaken, in Saratoga Springs, New York. Leslie built a platform and added a roof over the tree's hollow trunk, creating the Big Tree Pavilion. The Forest King stump was rediscovered in 2003.
- ^ Bethel, Brian (January 9, 2020). "Highlights from the Gary D. and Myrna R. Lowe collection on the Big Tree of California". Stanford Libraries. Stanford University. Retrieved January 22, 2023.