Photo Essay By Carolyn Swift
Antoine Matty and his family ran a grocery store at Wright’s Station in the Santa Cruz Mountains at the time of the fire in 1899.
One of the family members died fighting the fire.
The Mattys later joined the Sempervirens Fund and the effort to save and preserve Big Basin.
It has been a magnificent gift enjoyed by many generations.
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Editor’s Note: The Big Basin Redwoods State Park Visitors Center and headquarters were destroyed by the CZU Lightning Complex fire in August and the state park in Boulder Creek is closed to the public.