In honor of the National Park Service's 102nd birthday, the National Historic Landmarks Program would like to highlight the special relationship between National Historic Landmarks and our national parks.
National Historic Landmarks are cultural resources designated by the Secretary of the Interior due to their national historical significance. Close to 200 National Historic Landmarks are located in or have boundaries that overlap with 125 National Park System units. For comparison, there are approximately 2,600 National Historic Landmarks and just over 400 park units.
How does this overlap between NHLs and parks occur? Historic and cultural units of the National Park System are nationally significant by virtue of the legislation or presidential proclamation that authorized them. National Historic Landmark designations are appropriate for park cultural resources that meet National Historic Landmark criteria if the national significance of those resources is not adequately recognized in the park's authorizing legislation or presidential proclamation.
Twenty National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) are found in the national parks featured in Ken Burns' documentary, The National Parks: America's Best Idea. To celebrate 102 years of the National Park Service, the NHL Program has written an article, America's Best Idea: Featured National Historic Landmarks, that showcases these NHLs within the national park system.
We hope to inspire you to spend 2018 exploring National Historic Landmarks in our national parks!
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Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
