National Historic Landmarks News

Charleston Cigar Factory

A site in Charleston, SC, associated with a strike organized by African American women during the winter of 1945-1946.

This historic strike occurred during a wave of labor activism demanding better working conditions. The Black women strikers at the Charleston Cigar Factory set a precedent for collaboration and power-building between labor activists and advocates for civil rights.

Furies Collective

The headquarters of the  Furies Collective , a lesbian feminist community centered in Washington, DC.

In the Furies' self-titled newspaper, they wrote about what they called lesbian feminist separatism, a viewpoint that describes being lesbian as a political identity and women-centered way of life. The Furies encouraged women to buy goods at women-owned businesses and support women artists as ways of disentangling themselves from the patriarchy.

Kregel Windmill Company Factory

The most well-preserved windmill factory in the US, in Nebraska City, NE.

The  Kregel Windmill Company Factory  opened in 1902. Windmill manufacturing factories created important infrastructure for the US' expanding railroad network and agriculture across the Great Plains.

Latte Quarry at As Nieves

An archeological site in Rota Municipality in the Northern Mariana Islands, marking a quarry for  latte  - structural stone shafts and capstones integral to CHamoru architecture.

Latte structures are key to ancient and modern CHamoru architecture. Latte provided the foundation for ancient CHamoru homes and community spaces. The latte located at the As Nieves quarry remain in-situ, making the site particularly unique.

Azurest South

An International Style house in Petersburg, VA, designed by Amaza Lee Meredith (1895-1984), a queer Black artist and self-taught architect.

Meredith lived at Azurest South with her partner, Edna Mead Colson (1888-1985). The building's design reflected their multifaceted identities as queer Black women and provided a safe haven for the couple in the Jim Crow South.

Blue Ridge Parkway

One of the premier long-distance scenic parkways in the US, stretching between NC and VA.

Construction on the parkway began during the Great Depression as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, intended to revive the poor economy. Building the parkway required collaboration between landscape architects, engineers, draftspeople, and the federal government.

Boulder County Courthouse

A landmark in the fight for LGBTQ+ marriage equality, in Boulder, CO.

In 1975, Boulder County Clerk Clela Rorex issued six marriage licenses to same-sex couples, noting that state laws did not require that married couples be a man and a woman. The Colorado Attorney General subsequently issued an opinion stipulating that marriage could only be between a man and a woman. Still, the six couples in question were legally married, providing a clear precedent for marriage equality.

F.W. Woolworth Company Building

A site of protests for equal treatment in public accommodations, in Greensboro, NC.

On February 1, 1960, four African American college students began a sit-in at the F.W. Woolworth Company Building's lunch counter, protesting racial segregation. Their sit-in inspired thousands of people to demand equal treatment in shops, restaurants, and other public places. It also opened new opportunities for Black youth to take on leadership roles in the civil rights movement.

Loudoun County Courthouse

The courthouse associated with the 1933-1934 NAACP-led court case Commonwealth of Virginia v. Crawford, in Leesburg, VA.

The defendant, William Crawford, was a Black man accused of murdering two White women. His legal defense team, all Black lawyers trained at Howard University, argued that Crawford would not receive a fair trial by an all-White jury, raising issues of racial equity and representation across American courtrooms.

Lucknow

A unique Arts and Crafts estate and landscape in Moultonborough, NH.

Lucknow was commissioned by Thomas Gustave Plant in 1913. As a nature lover, Plant wanted his home's design to use locally-sourced building materials and meld well with the surrounding mountainous terrain.

Lucy Diggs Slowe and Mary Burrill House

The home of Howard University's first dean of women, Lucy Diggs Slowe, in Washington, DC.

Lucy Diggs Slowe (1885-1937) advocated for gender equity at Howard University in many ways, including by insisting on her right to live off campus like male professors did. She lived at this home with her life partner, Mary Burrill (1881-1946).

Manenggon Concentration Camp

A site of human rights abuses suffered by CHamoru people during World War II, in Yona Municipality, Guam.

During Japan's wartime occupation of Guam, approximately half of Guam's population of Indigenous CHamoru people were incarcerated at Manenggon under brutal conditions. Today, the site commemorates CHamoru resilience and courage.

Mr. Charlie Offshore Oil Rig

The first and longest-operating mobile Offshore Drilling Unit in Morgan City, LA.

The Mr. Charlie Offshore Oil Rig facilitated access to previously untapped oil fields lying underneath the sea floor. Mr. Charlie's engineering features undergirded the U.S.'s participation in industrial oil drilling.

Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth House and Studios

The residence of artists Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth in San Patricio, NM.

Peter Hurd (1904-1984) and Henriette Wyeth (1907-1997) married in 1929. The couple were both painters and had independent studios at their shared New Mexico residence, asserting their unique design preferences and artistic styles.

Reeve REA Power Generating Plant

A plant associated with the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), in Hampton, IA.

The Rural Electrification Administration was supported by New Deal-era social policies invested in alleviating poverty in rural communities. In large part because of REA, the percentage of rural households with electricity rose from 11% to 78% between 1935 and 1950.

Summit Camp

The largest and longest occupied campsite associated with Chinese laborers who worked on the Transcontinental Railroad, in Placer County, CA.

Between 1865 and 1869, hundreds of Chinese workers lived at Summit Camp, close to where tunnels were being carved through the Sierra Nevada mountains. Archeological discoveries at this site may provide new insights into what life was like for Chinese construction workers building the railroad.

Tor House (Robinson Jeffers House)

Home of poet Robinson Jeffers in Carmel, CA.

Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962) wrote all of his major literary works at Tor House, where he lived with his wife Una. Jeffers was involved in the construction of Tor House, learning the art of stonemasonry to craft elements of the residence.

Winged Foot Golf Club

Golf course designed by renowned golf architect A.W. Tillinghast in Mamaroneck, NY.

A.W. Tillinghast (1876-1942) was noted for his ability to provide a variety of pathways through his golf courses, creating options for both risk-averse and risk-taking golfers. The course's clubhouse was designed by Clifford Wendehack.

Calumet Historic District

Updated documentation for a historic district in Calumet, MI associated with the early copper mining industry.

 Calumet Historic District  was a center of operations for the U.S.'s copper mining industry between the latter half of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. As electrification became more prevalent across the US, industries needed more and more copper to make effective conductors for electricity. Calumet Historic District was originally designated a landmark in 1989. Updated documentation revises the NHL's boundaries and provides more context about how copper mining and labor disputes shaped US history.

Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove Plantation

Updated documentation for a Civil War-era battlefield in Middletown, VA, highlighting the Shenandoah Valley's history.

 Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove Plantation  originally became a National Historic Landmark in 1969. Its updated documentation revises the NHL's boundaries and documents the district not just as a Civil War battlefield but as a cultural landscape with a multi-layered history of settler colonialism in the backcountry, antebellum farms and plantations, and slavery.

Fort Brown

Updated documentation for a site in critical to the beginning of the US-Mexican War in Brownsville, TX.

 Fort Brown  was built in 1846, on the north side of the Rio Grande. It became a symbol of US expansion into Mexican territories. The fort was originally designated an NHL in 1960. The fort's revised documentation updates the landmark's boundaries to better reflect its current physical condition. The update also highlights the fort's significance to Latino and Black histories.

Ladd Field

Updated documentation for the headquarters of the World War II-era Alaska-Siberian Lend-Lease route in Fort Wainwright, AK.

The Soviet Lend-Lease Program used the Alaska-Siberian Lend-Lease route to transport aircraft from the US to Russia, supporting Soviet troops fighting on the war's Eastern front. Ladd Field also played an important role in developing technologies to enable military aircraft to operate in freezing temperatures.  Ladd Field  was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1985. Its documentation was amended to more accurately reflect the range of structures included within the NHL's boundaries.

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Pu'ukoholā Heiau

Updated documentation for a Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) political and religious site in Kawaihae, HI.

A heiau is a large sacrificial temple. The ali'i nui (paramount chief) Kamehameha I oversaw the construction of  Pu'ukoholā Heiau . The temple's construction was part of Kamehameha's efforts to unify the Hawaiian Islands into a single kingdom, which he accomplished in 1810. Pu'ukoholā Heiau first became an NHL in 1962. The site's documentation has been updated to take into account recent archaeological findings that have yielded insight into Hawaiian national history.

Quincy Mining Company Historic District

Updated documentation for a mid-nineteenth-century copper mining company in Hancock, MI.

The  Quincy Mining Company Historic District  tells the story of how copper mining became a dominant trade across Michigan as the US became an industrialized nation. Nicknamed "Old Reliable," the Quincy Mine Company participated played an important role in facilitating electrification across the US The district became an NHL in 1989. Its revised documentation expands the NHL's boundaries to include additional historic buildings, including the Quincy shaft-rockhouse.

Sitka Naval Operating Base and US Army Coastal Defenses

Updated documentation for the site of the first US naval air station in Alaska.

The  Sitka Naval Operating Base  became significant to the US' response to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. As the US formally entered World War II, servicemen based at Sitka guarded against potential Japanese invasion. The site was originally designated as an NHL in 1986. Its revised documentation provides an analysis of the base's role in the US' wartime coastal defense strategies.

Watkins Mill

Updated documentation for a nineteenth-century industrial wool mill, its surrounding outbuildings, and adjacent farmland in Lawson, MO.

Workers at  Watkins Mill , which operated between 1860 and 1866, produced yarn and wool fabric. Like many mills of its time, Watkins Mill combined small-scale industrial production with farming, bridging between a predominantly agricultural economy and a predominantly industrial economy. Watkins Mill became a National Historic Landmark in 1966. Updated documentation reflects recent scholarship about the historic period and provides more detailed descriptions of the different structures across the historic site.

Wyoming State Capitol Building and Grounds

Updated documentation for the Wyoming capitol building in Cheyenne, WY, recognizing the state's role in the women's suffrage movement.

Wyoming holds a  unique place in the history of the US suffrage movement . As a US territory, Wyoming legislators adopted women's suffrage in 1869. When Wyoming became a state in 1890, women's right to vote was maintained in the constitution, making Wyoming the first state to guarantee women's suffrage. The Wyoming State Capitol and Grounds became a National Historic Landmark in 1987. Its revised documentation delves more deeply into the site's association with the suffrage movement.

Carrie Blast Furnaces No. 6 and 7

Updated documentation for an influential iron and steel manufacturing district in Alleghany County, PA.

Early twentieth century iron- and steel-making techniques established and practiced at this industrial district were critical to the iron industry's successes in Pittsburgh. The site exemplifies the trajectory of industrial steel working in the United States. It was originally designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2006.

Fort Monroe

Updated documentation for a coastal defense site in Hampton, VA, which was prominent in U.S. military conflicts from the Civil War through World War II.

Construction on what became Fort Monroe began in 1819. The fort became a model for U.S. coastal defense stations, eventually housing the Coast Artillery School between 1907 and 1946. Fort Monroe became a National Historic Landmark in 1960.

Fort William H. Seward (Chilkoot Barracks)

Updated documentation for a site significant to the Alaskan Gold Rush, in Haines, AK.

Fort William H. Seward was constructed in 1902 to maintain order among an influx of prospectors searching for gold in the Alaskan Klondike region. The gold rush caused a border dispute between the US and Canada, as the two nations debated who had the rights to the area's natural resources. The fort became a National Historic Landmark in 1978. Its revised documentation clarifies the landmark's boundaries.

Fort Worden

Updated documentation for a significant coastal defense site in Port Townsend, WA.

Fort Worden was initially designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976. The fort's updated documentation highlights the role the site played in the US' military preparedness during World War II. American soldiers stationed at Fort Worden cooperated with Canadian soldiers, as both nations were concerned about a potential Japanese invasion.