The main building was built in the 1870's as the Hamilton Stables and Livery, serving miners, freighters, and travelers moving through Groveland during the Gold Rush era. The creek out front was actively being reshaped and mined for gold, while the flats above were still being used by the Southern Miwok people, who had called this land home for thousands of years — harvesting acorns, moving seasonally, and maintaining deep cultural ties to the region long before settlers arrived.

As the decades passed, the property continued to evolve alongside the Yosemite gateway. In the early 1920s, The Casseretto Family built the cabins to support the construction of the Hetch Hetchy Dam, housing and staging the labor and equipment that helped build the infrastructure that still shapes Yosemite today.

By the late 20th century, the site had fallen into severe disrepair. At the end of the last century, the area became known locally as Poverty Hill, a name that reflected the reality of deteriorating cabins and a persistent homeless encampment. 

In 2019, Elisabeth Barton and Bryant Burnette began the work of reclaiming the site with intention and care. Rather than erase its past, they chose to create a homage honoring the layered history of the land and the community around it.

Many furnishings were recovered from the original Groveland Hotel or sourced from Ranch Revived, bringing tangible pieces of Groveland’s story into the present-day guest experience.

Today, Yosemite Basecamp reflects what this place has always been at its core: a practical refuge for people on the move, shaped by the land, the labor, and the lives that have passed through it.