William Kent, a noted California philanthropist, and politician realized that lumber companies had virtually wiped out nearly all of the old-growth redwood trees around the Bay Area and moved quickly to buy around 600 acres of pristine, untouched redwoods in 1905. In 1909, he donated a small patch of land to the federal government in 1908, and President Roosevelt used the Antiquities Act to establish this land as a national monument. Kent’s donation came with one caveat: that it be named after John Muir, who was a prominent conservationist, naturist, and author. Muir is often credited with spawning the philosophy of preserving nature for future generations.