[1][3] Clark constructed the first shelter, a simple one-room cabin, in the Upper Grove in May 1864, shortly after being appointed the first guardian of the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Big Tree Grant.

The California Legislature passed a resolution calling for its preservation, and visitors rallied to save it as a symbol of the state's heritage.

[8] Ultimately, the cabin was protected and the Camp in the Big Trees, which featured overnight accommodations, was built in a separate location in the grove.

The main decorative feature is the handcrafted furniture, including massive sequoia wood tables and benches, hand-planed and polished, with simple, stylized carvings of Native American motifs reflecting an Art Deco influence.

[12][2] In the mid-20th century, ecologist Richard Hartesveldt rephotographed the Galen Clark cabin from the same angles as hundreds of decades-old images.

His work showed that human activity and fire suppression allowed shade-tolerant white firs to proliferate, creating dangerous fuel buildup that threatened mature sequoias and stifled new sapling growth.