United States Census, 1900," James J. Lumsden, ED 126 Township 3, Tuolumne, California, United States
Household Gender Age Birthplace
Head James J. Lumsden M 64 Vermont
Wife Clara Lumsden F 44 California
Son David A Lumsden M 28 California
Son James J. Lumsden M 21 California
Son John E Lumsden M 19 California
Daughter Martha E Lumsden F 17 California
Son George F. Lumsden M 15 California
Son Leander E. Lumsden M 13 California
Son Thomas J Lumsden M 11 California

Yosemite: the Park and its Resources (1987) by Linda W. Greene
Dr. J. L. Cogswell stated in 1910 that he and eight others discovered the grove on 10 May 1858. Their party had left Garrote, near Big Oak Flat, for a sightseeing trip to Yosemite Valley. While encamped at Crane Flat, one of the party shot a deer, but the wounded animal ran away. The next day the party set out on the trail of the deer and came by accident upon a group of magnificent trees. So overawed were they that they forgot the deer and spent the day exploring the area.

They particularly noted a giant tree with its interior hollowed out by fire. They named it King Solomon's Temple, although it later came to be called the Dead Giant. Cogswell immediately reported his discovery to the San Francisco, Daily Evening Bulletin, and the grove quickly became a regular stop for tourists on their way to the valley.

William McCarthy, Dave Lumsden, and James J. Lumsden carved out the Dead Giant Tree in 1878, creating a tunnel through which stages passed for many years. According to Hutchings, this was the first giant sequoia tree cut through. W. G. Marshall, who visited the Big Tree groves and Yosemite Valley in June of that year, related:

We came to the Tuolumne Big Tree Grove, [and came upon] . . . a tunnel through the stump of one of the largest sequoias in the grove, through which the road passes, and the stagecoach is driven. . . . The tunnel measures 12 feet, and it is 10 1/2 feet wide at the top. . . . The tunnel had only been completed a week before our visit to the grove, the first coachful having passed through the stump on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 18.