Even before the pioneers settled in California, Mather was home to a group of Miwok Indians, who made their camp near where the corral now stands. Artifacts are occasionally found from these Indians.

Although there are signs that prospectors may have re-settled the area during the gold rush era, it was actually not until the early part of this century that the area became heavily populated, when the City of San Francisco, authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Raker Act of 1913, began construction of a dam and reservoir on the Tuolumne River in Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park.

During this time, a sawmill was built on the lake side of Mather to supply the lumber needed for the dam's construction. The site of present Birch Lake was excavated to provide gravel needed in the construction effort.  During excavation, springs were encountered which filled the hole creating a lake.

At the same time, the Yosemite Park and Curry Company used the other side of camp to house tourists interested in seeing both Yosemite National Park and the construction of the dam. The company built the Jack Spring Dining Hall for this purpose, the building that now serves as the Camp Mather kitchen and dining room.

The O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed in 1923 and, after the necessary pipelines and power houses were completed, San Francisco began using water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir for its water supply and electrical power generation, and San Francisco families began using the former workers’camp, Camp Mather, for summer recreation. In the mid 1920's, the City of San Francisco designated the property for use as a family recreation area. It was named Camp Mather in honor of *Stephen T. Mather, the first director of the National Park Service.

 Stephen Mather, First Director of the National Park Service, was a graduate of Lowell High School, San Francisco.