Daughter of James Hutchings, first non-Indian child born in Yosemite. Although she could be a rebellious child, she cleaned and picked flowers for the chapel in Yosemite. She died after a fall in a horse riding accident.
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Florence Hutchings often met stages (stage coach) arriving in the Valley in 1880–81, and delighted in welcoming incoming visitors in flamboyant style astride her spirited horse. Born on August 23, 1864. “Floy” grew into a teenager who loved horseback riding, hiking, and camping alone. Vivacious and very much a tomboy, she engaged in unconventional behavior, including swearing and smoking, but often served as a popular, patient, and informative guide to tourists. She took it upon herself to provide janitorial services for the Yosemite Chapel, where she would clean, then decorate with wildflowers, lay out the hype books, and rang the bell to announce services when a minister visited.
Effie Crippen was her closet friend and companion. Together the girls explored Yosemite’s trails on foot and horseback. When Effie died (her grave is opposite the fenced grave of William Atkinson) on August 31, 1881, Florence Hutchings sang “Safe in the Arms of Jesus” at her friend’s graveside service.
Less than a month later, Floy, who was only seventeen, died on September 26, 1881, after a freak mishap. Although there are conflicting stories about the cause of Floy’s death, her younger sister Cosie related some years later that “my sister and a party of friends were climbing the Ledge Trail when someone above her loosened a large rock and it rolled down, striking Florence. She was badly injured and was carried back to our cabin. She died the following day.”
Floy’s funeral was held in the Big Tree Room of Hutchings’ former hotel (Barnard’s Hotel), and artist Charles D. Robinson read the burial services and a memorial. He described Floy as of “a bold, fearless disposition, warm and generous temperament, far advanced and original in thought beyond her years, with a kind word and pleasant greeting for every one. Always ready to do a self-denying action, or an act of kindness.” Her stepmother, Augusta, wrote for the San Fransico Evening Post: “So we have laid her, who, only a week before… was climbing heights and scrambling through ravines where only eagles might be looked for, under the same oaks as Effie.”
Mount Florence, a 12,561-foot Yosemite peak between Mount McClure and Mounty Lyell, is named in her memory.
Source: “Guide to the Yosemite Cemetery”, By Hank Johnston and Martha Lee, Yosemite Association, Yosemite National Park, California, 1997
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Florence Hutchings often met stages (stage coach) arriving in the Valley in 1880–81, and delighted in welcoming incoming visitors in flamboyant style astride her spirited horse. Born on August 23, 1864. “Floy” grew into a teenager who loved horseback riding, hiking, and camping alone. Vivacious and very much a tomboy, she engaged in unconventional behavior, including swearing and smoking, but often served as a popular, patient, and informative guide to tourists. She took it upon herself to provide janitorial services for the Yosemite Chapel, where she would clean, then decorate with wildflowers, lay out the hype books, and rang the bell to announce services when a minister visited.
Effie Crippen was her closet friend and companion. Together the girls explored Yosemite’s trails on foot and horseback. When Effie died (her grave is opposite the fenced grave of William Atkinson) on August 31, 1881, Florence Hutchings sang “Safe in the Arms of Jesus” at her friend’s graveside service.
Less than a month later, Floy, who was only seventeen, died on September 26, 1881, after a freak mishap. Although there are conflicting stories about the cause of Floy’s death, her younger sister Cosie related some years later that “my sister and a party of friends were climbing the Ledge Trail when someone above her loosened a large rock and it rolled down, striking Florence. She was badly injured and was carried back to our cabin. She died the following day.”
Floy’s funeral was held in the Big Tree Room of Hutchings’ former hotel (Barnard’s Hotel), and artist Charles D. Robinson read the burial services and a memorial. He described Floy as of “a bold, fearless disposition, warm and generous temperament, far advanced and original in thought beyond her years, with a kind word and pleasant greeting for every one. Always ready to do a self-denying action, or an act of kindness.” Her stepmother, Augusta, wrote for the San Fransico Evening Post: “So we have laid her, who, only a week before… was climbing heights and scrambling through ravines where only eagles might be looked for, under the same oaks as Effie.”
Mount Florence, a 12,561-foot Yosemite peak between Mount McClure and Mounty Lyell, is named in her memory.
Source: “Guide to the Yosemite Cemetery”, By Hank Johnston and Martha Lee, Yosemite Association, Yosemite National Park, California, 1997
Daughter of James Hutchings, first non-Indian child born in Yosemite. Although she could be a rebellious child, she cleaned and picked flowers for the chapel in Yosemite. She died after a fall in a horse riding accident.
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Florence Hutchings often met stages (stage coach) arriving in the Valley in 1880–81, and delighted in welcoming incoming visitors in flamboyant style astride her spirited horse. Born on August 23, 1864. “Floy” grew into a teenager who loved horseback riding, hiking, and camping alone. Vivacious and very much a tomboy, she engaged in unconventional behavior, including swearing and smoking, but often served as a popular, patient, and informative guide to tourists. She took it upon herself to provide janitorial services for the Yosemite Chapel, where she would clean, then decorate with wildflowers, lay out the hype books, and rang the bell to announce services when a minister visited.
Effie Crippen was her closet friend and companion. Together the girls explored Yosemite’s trails on foot and horseback. When Effie died (her grave is opposite the fenced grave of William Atkinson) on August 31, 1881, Florence Hutchings sang “Safe in the Arms of Jesus” at her friend’s graveside service.
Less than a month later, Floy, who was only seventeen, died on September 26, 1881, after a freak mishap. Although there are conflicting stories about the cause of Floy’s death, her younger sister Cosie related some years later that “my sister and a party of friends were climbing the Ledge Trail when someone above her loosened a large rock and it rolled down, striking Florence. She was badly injured and was carried back to our cabin. She died the following day.”
Floy’s funeral was held in the Big Tree Room of Hutchings’ former hotel (Barnard’s Hotel), and artist Charles D. Robinson read the burial services and a memorial. He described Floy as of “a bold, fearless disposition, warm and generous temperament, far advanced and original in thought beyond her years, with a kind word and pleasant greeting for every one. Always ready to do a self-denying action, or an act of kindness.” Her stepmother, Augusta, wrote for the San Fransico Evening Post: “So we have laid her, who, only a week before… was climbing heights and scrambling through ravines where only eagles might be looked for, under the same oaks as Effie.”
Mount Florence, a 12,561-foot Yosemite peak between Mount McClure and Mounty Lyell, is named in her memory.
Source: “Guide to the Yosemite Cemetery”, By Hank Johnston and Martha Lee, Yosemite Association, Yosemite National Park, California, 1997
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Florence Hutchings often met stages (stage coach) arriving in the Valley in 1880–81, and delighted in welcoming incoming visitors in flamboyant style astride her spirited horse. Born on August 23, 1864. “Floy” grew into a teenager who loved horseback riding, hiking, and camping alone. Vivacious and very much a tomboy, she engaged in unconventional behavior, including swearing and smoking, but often served as a popular, patient, and informative guide to tourists. She took it upon herself to provide janitorial services for the Yosemite Chapel, where she would clean, then decorate with wildflowers, lay out the hype books, and rang the bell to announce services when a minister visited.
Effie Crippen was her closet friend and companion. Together the girls explored Yosemite’s trails on foot and horseback. When Effie died (her grave is opposite the fenced grave of William Atkinson) on August 31, 1881, Florence Hutchings sang “Safe in the Arms of Jesus” at her friend’s graveside service.
Less than a month later, Floy, who was only seventeen, died on September 26, 1881, after a freak mishap. Although there are conflicting stories about the cause of Floy’s death, her younger sister Cosie related some years later that “my sister and a party of friends were climbing the Ledge Trail when someone above her loosened a large rock and it rolled down, striking Florence. She was badly injured and was carried back to our cabin. She died the following day.”
Floy’s funeral was held in the Big Tree Room of Hutchings’ former hotel (Barnard’s Hotel), and artist Charles D. Robinson read the burial services and a memorial. He described Floy as of “a bold, fearless disposition, warm and generous temperament, far advanced and original in thought beyond her years, with a kind word and pleasant greeting for every one. Always ready to do a self-denying action, or an act of kindness.” Her stepmother, Augusta, wrote for the San Fransico Evening Post: “So we have laid her, who, only a week before… was climbing heights and scrambling through ravines where only eagles might be looked for, under the same oaks as Effie.”
Mount Florence, a 12,561-foot Yosemite peak between Mount McClure and Mounty Lyell, is named in her memory.
Source: “Guide to the Yosemite Cemetery”, By Hank Johnston and Martha Lee, Yosemite Association, Yosemite National Park, California, 1997
