“Half Dome was perfectly inaccessible, being probably the only one of all the prominent points about Yosemite which has never been and will never be trodden by human foot.” Josiah Whitney, California State Geologist, 1869

George Anderson, a Scottish immigrant, came to Yosemite around 1868, working a variety of jobs to make ends meet in Yosemite Valley during the warm summer months. During the winter, Anderson lived in this modest cabin, which was originally located in Big Meadow (now Foresta).

Anderson applied his skills as a blacksmith and trail builder to open new pathways for sharing the beauties of Yosemite. His most daunting challenge was to find a way to the “perfectly inaccessible” summit of Half Dome, and through persistence, innovation, and guts, Anderson became the first known person known to have accomplished that feat. On that final steep slab of Half Dome, Anderson drilled holes and hammered in iron bolts of his own making, precariously standing on each bolt while painstakingly driving in the next. Shortly after his first ascent of Half Dome, Anderson began guiding others to the top.

Besides creating this adventurous and popular hiking route up Half Dome, Anderson also built several other famous trails in Yosemite, including sections of the Mist Trail to Vernal and Nevada Fall.