Theodore Seixas Solomons: The Jewish San Franciscan Who Inspired North America’s Most Famous Footpath

Click here to register for this free in-person program co-presented by New Lehrhaus. The Library is located at 1835 Ellis Street in San Francisco, with free garage parking at 1227 Pierce Street between Ellis and Eddy. 

The John Muir Trail runs 212 miles along the crest of California’s High Sierra, from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney. Did you know that its creator was the direct descendant of the only Jewish clergyman in attendance at George Washington’s inauguration in 1789? Michael Hoberman tells the story of Theodore Seixas Solomons’ 1890s explorations of the Sierra, as well as of his tireless (and largely unrecognized) contributions to the creation of the nation’s most scenic high-elevation footpath.

Michael Hoberman is a professor of English Studies at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts. His most recent book, Imagining Early American Jews, will be published in late 2025 by Oxford University Press. His essays on Jewish-American history can be found in Tablet Magazine.