Eastern National (also known as EN) is a nonprofit Cooperating Association based in

Fort Washington, Pennsylvania Fort Washington is a census-designated place and suburb of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,446 at the 2010 census. History Prior to the Revolutionary War the Fort Washington area was settle ...

, that partners with the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It was created by charter in 1948 to "provide quality educational products and services to the visitors to America's national parks and other public trusts." As of June 16, 2009, Eastern National has donated over $100 million to their partners.

History

In 1947, some park service rangers formed the Eastern National Park & Monument Association at

Gettysburg National Military Park The Gettysburg National Military Park protects and interprets the landscape of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the park is managed by the National Park Service. The GNMP propert ...

. These rangers collected $147 and published one work: ''Abraham Lincoln in His Own Work and That of His Contemporaries''. This book was sold at

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park is a designated U.S. historic park preserving two separate farm sites in LaRue County, Kentucky, where Abraham Lincoln was born and lived early in his childhood. He was born at the Sinking Sprin ...

. The organization was officially chartered the following year.

Bookstores

Eastern National operates interpretive bookstores in over 150 National Park units. EN publishes approximately 100 new products for the National Park Service each year. They also operate the

Jamestown Glasshouse The Jamestown Glasshouse is located in Jamestown, Virginia, between Jamestown Island, the location of the first permanent English settlement in North America, and Jamestown Settlement. It is currently a part of the Colonial National Historical P ...

in Jamestown, Virginia, and partner with other agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers and the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

eParks.com
is the official online store of America’s national parks, and is operated by Eastern National. Founded in 1947, EN provides critical funding and support for educational and interpretive programs in America’s national parks and other public trusts.

Passport stamps

They began the

national park passport stamp Passport to Your National Parks is a program through which ink stamps can be acquired at no cost at park visitor centers and ranger stations at nearly all of the units of the United States National Park System and most of the National Park Servi ...

program in 1986, and as of February 1, 2006 have sold 1.3 million passport books. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the program, they created the "Passport Explorer", a new version of the passport book with larger, sturdier pages, in early 2006. The passport program has developed a following, including the creation of the non-profit

National Park Travelers Club The National Park Travelers Club (or NPTC) is a non-profit 501(c)7 social club organization. Its mission is to provide networking and recognition opportunities for visitors to America's National Park System. This Club acts to support and expand a ...

References

External links

* {{official Charities based in Pennsylvania 1947 establishments in Pennsylvania Organizations established in 1947