For the National Park Service, the Web page
http://www.nps.gov/legacy/nomenclature.html
has the following info:
National Park: These are generally large natural places having a wide variety
of attributes, at times including significant historic assets.
Hunting, mining and consumptive activities are not authorized.
National Monument: The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorized the President to
declare by public proclamation landmarks, structures, and other objects of
historic or scientific interest situated on lands owned or controlled by the
government to be national monuments.
National Preserve: National preserves are areas having characteristics
associated with national parks, but in which Congress has permitted continued
public hunting, trapping, oil/gas exploration and extraction. Many
existing national preserves, without sport hunting, would qualify for
national park designation.
National Historic Site: Usually, a national historic sitecontains a single
historical feature that was directly associated with its subject.
Derived from the Historic Sites Act of 1935, a number of historic sites
were established by secretaries of the Interior, but most have been
authorized by acts of Congress.
National Historic Park: This designation generally applies to historic parks
that extend beyond single properties or buildings.
National Memorial: A national memorial is commemorative of a historic person or
episode; it need not occupy a site historically connected with its subject.
National Battlefield: This general title includes national battlefield,
national
battlefield
park, national battlefield site, and national military park. In 1958, an NPS
committee
recommended national battlefield as the single title for all such park lands.
National Cemetery: There are presently 14 national cemeteries in the National
Park
System, all of which are administered in conjunction with an associated unit
and
are
not accounted for separately.
National Recreation Area: Twelve NRAs in the system are centered on large
reservoirs and emphasize water-based recreation. Five other NRAs are located
near
major population centers. Such urban parks combine scarce open spaces with the
preservation of significant historic resources and important natural areas in
location that
can provide outdoor recreation for large numbers of people.
National Seashore: Ten national seashores have been established on the
Atlantic,
Gulf and Pacific coasts; some are developed and some relatively primitive.
Hunting is
allowed at many of these sites.
National Lakeshore: National lakeshores, all on the GreatLakes, closely
parallel
the
seashores in character and use.
National River: There are several variations to this category: national river
and
recreation area, national scenic river, wild river, etc. The first was
authorized in 1964
and others were established following passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
of
1968.
National Parkway: The title parkway refers to a roadway and the parkland
paralleling the roadway. All were intended for scenic motoring along a
protected
corridor and often connect cultural sites.
National Trail: National scenic trails and national historic trails are the
titles given to
these linear parklands (over 3,600 miles) authorized under the National Trails
System
Act of 1968.
Affliated Areas: In an Act of August 18, 1970, the National Park System was
defined in law as, "any area of land and water now or hereafter administered by
the
Secretary of the Interior through the National Park Service for park, monument,
historic, parkway, recreational or other purposes." The Affiliated Areas
comprise a
variety of locations in the United States and Canada that preserve significant
properties
outside the National Park System. Some of these have been recognized by Acts of
ongress, others have been designated national historic sites by the Secretary
of
the
Interior under authority of the Historic Sites Act of 1935. All draw on
technical or
financial aid from the National Park Service.
Other Designations: Some units of the National Park System bear unique titles
or
combinations of titles, like the White House and Prince William Forest Park.
The National register of important Places is at
http://www.cr.nps.gov/crweb1/nr/welcome.htm
As stated there:
The National Register of Historic Places is the Nation's official list
of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Authorized under the
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register
is
part of a national program to coordinate and support public and
private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect our historic and
archeological resources. Properties listed on the Register include
districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are
significant in
American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and
culture.
The National Register is administered by the National Park Service,
which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Included among the more than 68,000 listings that make up the
National
Register are:
all historic areas in the National Park System;
over 2,200 National Historic Landmarks, which have been
designated by
the Secretary of the Interior because of their importance to
all Americans;
properties across the country that have been nominated by
governments,
organizations, and individuals because they are significant to
the nation, to a
state, or to a community.
The Web site address for the NPS is http://www.nps.gov/
Dennis Martin
Volunteer, Steamtown NHS
http://www.cs.uofs.edu/~steamtwn
Jack Surmani wrote:
> At 05:35 PM 7/7/98 -0400, Deb Fuller wrote:
> >Hi all!
> >
> >I'm doing research on historic sites in an area and am a bit confused on
> >what is the difference between a National Historic Site, a National
> >Landmark and probably some other variations that I'm missing. What are the
> >criteria for each of the categories and how does one tell?
> >
> >Thanks!
> >
> >Deb Fuller
> >Staples & Charles
> >
> >
> Contact your State Historic Preservation Office (Office of Historic
> Preservation, etc.). The State office will have free information on the
> criteria for each, any pertinant state historic site designations and
> probably an inventory of the historic sites in the region that you are
> researching
>
> Suzanne Guerra
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