National Historic Site (NHS) is a designation for an officially recognized area of national historic significance in the United States. An NHS usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject. The National Historical Park (NHP) is an area that generally extends beyond single properties or buildings, and its resources include a mix of historic and later structures and sometimes significant natural features. As of 2022, there are 62 NHPs and 83 NHSs. Most NHPs and NHSs are managed by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

(NPS). Some federally designated sites are owned by local authorities or privately owned, but are authorized to request assistance from the NPS as affiliated areas. One property managed by the U.S. Forest Service: Grey Towers National Historic Site. As of October 15, 1966, all historic areas, including NHPs and NHSs, in the NPS are automatically listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

(NRHP). There are also about 90,000 NRHP sites, the large majority of which are neither owned nor managed by the NPS. Of these, about 2,500 have been designated at the highest status as

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

(NHL) sites.

National Historic Sites

National Historic Sites are generally federally owned and administered properties, though some remain under private or local government ownership. There are currently 83 NHSs, of which 73 are official NPS units, 9 are NPS affiliated areas, and one managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Derived from the Historic Sites Act of 1935, a number of NHSs were established by

United States Secretaries of the Interior United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

, but most have been authorized by acts of Congress. In 1937, the first NHS was created in Salem, Massachusetts, in order to preserve and interpret the maritime history of New England and the United States.

International Historic Site

There is one International Historic Site in the US park system, a unique designation given to Saint Croix Island, Maine, on the

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...

border. The title, given to the site of the first permanent French settlement in America, recognizes the influence that it has had on both Canada and the United States. The NPS does not distinguish among these designations in terms of their preservation or management policies.

National Historical Parks

In the United States, sites are "historic", while parks are "historical". The NPS explains that a site can be intrinsically historic, while a park is a modern legal invention. As such, a park is not itself "historic", but can be called "historical" when it contains historic resources. It is the resources which are historic, not the park.U.S. National Park Service, Headquarters Office, Washington, DC. Personal letter. There are 61 national historical parks.

International Historical Park

Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park was formally established by the United States and Canada in 1998, the year of the centennial of the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

the park commemorates. The park comprises Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Washington and

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

, and Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site in British Columbia. It was this trail which so many prospectors took in hopes of making their fortunes in the Klondike River district of Yukon.

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