William and Elizabeth Kent gave part of their California redwood forest to the U.S. government in 1908. President Theodore Roosevelt made the land Muir Woods National Monument.
The couple bought 611 acres in Redwood Canyon in 1905 for $45,000. They later donated about 295 acres, according to the National Park Service. The tract became the country's seventh national monument and the first created from privately donated land.
The redwoods faced logging pressure and a plan by the North Coast Water Company to dam a creek and build a reservoir. The dispute intensified in 1907. Demand for timber rose after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which destroyed much of the city.
William Kent sought help from U.S. Forest Service chief Gifford Pinchot, who brought the dispute to President Theodore Roosevelt. The Antiquities Act allowed the president to establish national monuments. Roosevelt accepted the donation in January 1908 and named it for naturalist John Muir at Kent's request. The land transfer ended the reservoir dispute.
Elizabeth Thacher Kent co-owned the property and took part in the family's civic and philanthropic work. The National Park Service has since recognized her role in protecting the grove. Muir Woods has remained a protected site for more than a century.