Yosemite Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mariposa County, California, United States. It consists of the developed area of Yosemite Village and the other areas of the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park. The population was 1,035 at the 2010 census, up from 265 at the 2000 census. Situated along the north side of the valley floor, its permanent population includes staff of the National Park Service, which administers the park, and some concession workers associated with various contracts in the Park. The Village has some public facilities, such as a fire station, a post office (ZIP Code 95389), a medical clinic, a convenience store, restaurants, gift shops, a school (kindergarten through eighth grade). The Park's headquarters facilities and its main visitor center are also located here. The Yosemite Lodge is located on the west end of the village near Yosemite Falls. The Ahwahnee Hotel is a few blocks to the north. Both are operated by concessionaires under contract to the National Park Service. The architecture of Yosemite Village is characterized by shed style and makes extensive use of native woods. The earliest 20th-century buildings were designed by landscape architect Charles Punchard, Jr., among others in the National Park Service. The first US post office opened in 1869, originally named "Yo Semite." The spelling was changed to Yosemite in 1908 and to Yosemite National Park in 1922. In 1906, Major H.C. Benson was commanded to build and garrison Fort Yosemite in the valley. US Army troops were stationed at Fort Yosemite until 1916, when the National Park Service was established to administer Yosemite and other national parks.Curry Village is one of the lodging options in the area.