Park History

This Park Wins the "Most Visits by a President" Award

Which unit in the national park system outside of Washington, D.C., has received the most visits by presidents and other heads of state? Here are two clues: An answer to the question, "Where in blue blazes…" is found in this park, and in years past Shangri-La was just up the road.

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By Jim Burnett - November 11th, 2008 8:10pm

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You Still Can Visit Herman Melville's New Bedford

Books can take us on adventures and to places we never thought possible. Through Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, one can travel the mid-19th Century world's oceans and return to a tiny East Coast sea port once viewed as the world's richest cities.

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By Kurt Repanshek - November 11th, 2008 1:30pm

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Colonial America and the Other San Juan Capistrano

When we hear the term "Colonial America," locations west of the Mississippi aren't often the first to come to mind. Long before the Liberty Bell became a symbol of the United States, however, a story involving a European power other than Great Britain was already well underway in another part of our country.

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By Jim Burnett - October 29th, 2011 1:16pm

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Fort Davis National Historic Site, Home of the Buffalo Soldiers

With Barack Obama set to become the first American president of African-American descent, 3,000 or so of the 19th Century Army veterans who served at Fort Davis must be high-fiving each other somewhere in the beyond.

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By Claire M. Walter - November 7th, 2008 1:48pm

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Poets, Ports and Politics – The Long Battle for a New Kind of Park

According to this park's administrative history, it was the first area considered for addition to the newly-established national park system by the agency's first director, Stephen T. Mather. Mather visited the area in October 1916, but fifty years would elapse before a bill authorizing the park was finally passed.

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By Jim Burnett - November 4th, 2008 7:52pm

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Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial - War and Peace and Two Memorable Phrases

On a clear day, you can't see forever from the top of Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial …but you can spot Detroit, Toledo and Cleveland, and enjoy learning about a key event in our nation's history. Do you know which oft-quoted phrases are associated with this park's story?

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By Jim Burnett - October 24th, 2008 10:43pm

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Blue Ridge Parkway’s 75th Anniversary Celebration Begins

As the country careened toward what is beginning to look like a second Great Depression, citizens in North Carolina and Virginia paused on October 9 and 10 to consider the history of one of the great public accomplishments of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal 75 years ago: the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway.

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By amwdew - October 20th, 2008 12:35pm

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Park History: Biscayne National Park

Having already seen snow this fall in the Rockies, the thought of heading to a nice, warm patch of sand being slapped by warm Atlantic waters sounds pretty good right about now. And if airfares weren't what they are, a quick jaunt to Biscayne National Park to commemorate the park's birthday would seem just about right.

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By Kurt Repanshek - October 17th, 2008 7:40pm

Park History: Timpanogos Cave National Monument

Believe it or not, Timpanogos Cave National Monument and Mammoth Cave National Park have something in common. Both owe their discovery, in part, to hunters. At least that's the local lore.

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By Kurt Repanshek - October 13th, 2008 4:38pm

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Boulder Dam National Recreation Area – Forgotten but Not Gone?

October 13, 1936, marked the creation of Boulder Dam National Recreation Area and a brand-new category of management units for the National Park Service. The recreation area no longer exists by its original name, but its legacy continues in one of the most heavily-visited parks in the country. During their first 30 years the park and the dam underwent more name changes than the rock entertainer formerly known as….

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By Jim Burnett - October 12th, 2008 2:33pm

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INN Member

The easiest way to explore RV-friendly National Park campgrounds.

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

Here’s the definitive guide to National Park System campgrounds where RVers can park their rigs.

Our app is packed with RVing- specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 national parks.

You’ll also find stories about RVing in the parks, tips helpful if you’ve just recently become an RVer, and useful planning suggestions.