In 1905, William and Elizabeth Kent paid $45,000 for 611 acres of California redwood forest; after a reservoir threat, they donated about 295 acres and the land became Muir Woods National Monument in 1908 | World News
William and Elizabeth Kent/Image: National Park Service A stretch of California redwood forest that could have been logged and turned into a reservoir became one of the country’s best-known protected forests after William and Elizabeth Kent chose to give much of their land to the federal government.The Kents bought 611 acres in Redwood Canyon in…