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John W. Bingaman
John W. Bingaman (1896-1987) was an American park ranger. Born on June 18, 1896 on a farm in Bellevue, Ohio to John Daniel Bingaman and Susan Jane Boyer Bingaman, he attended the p...view moreJohn W. Bingaman (1896-1987) was an American park ranger. Born on June 18, 1896 on a farm in Bellevue, Ohio to John Daniel Bingaman and Susan Jane Boyer Bingaman, he attended the public school and helped his father on the farm. In 1914-1915 he worked as yard checker for the New York Central Railroad in Elkhart, Indiana and in 1916 moved to Stockton. California, where he worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad for a short time and for the Holt Tractor Company of Stockton, making big tanks and combinders during the World War I.
In 1918 John and his wife Martha went to the Yosemite, where he worked for the Yosemite Park Company as guide and packer. During the winter of 1919 he was caretaker and hotel manager at Glacier Point Mountain House, and during the winter of 1920 up to the opening of the summer season, he managed the Company Stables at Kenneyville. He was appointed permanent park ranger in 1921 and worked in several parts of Yosemite National Park, with his wife Martha assisting him during the busy summer season. He was promoted to district ranger in 1937 and placed in charge of the Wawona district (1940-1944 and 1951-1954), as well as the Mather ranger district (1940-1944) and the Tuolumne Meadow District (1950 and 1955-1956).
After his retirement in 1956, Bingaman and his wife lived in the desert in Southern California and spent summers touring various mountain areas and National Parks with their trailer. In retirement he wrote the present volume, Guardians of the Yosemite, as well as The Ahwahneechees: A Story of the Yosemite Indians (1966) and Pathways: A Story of Trails and Men (1968).
Bingaman died in Stockton, California on April 5, 1987, aged 91.
Bingaman Lake, located below Kuna Crest and Kuna Peak in Tuolumne County, California, was named after John W. Bingaman, who stocked the lake with fish.view less