A

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site - Kentucky, July 17, 1916. Authorized as Abraham Lincoln National Park, 1916. Redesignated NHP 1939, then Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site, 1959.

Acadia National Park - Maine, July 8, 1916. Authorized as Dieur de Monte National Monument, 1916. Redesignated as Lafayette National Park, 1919. Redesignated Acadia National Park, 1929.

Adams National Historic Park - Massachusetts, December 9, 1946. Authorized as Adams Mansion National Historic Site, 1946. Redesignated Adams National Historic Site, 1952. Redesignated Adams National Historic Park, 1998.

African Burial Ground National Monument - New York, February 27, 2006

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument - Nebraska, June 5, 1965

Alagnak Wild River - Alaska, December 2, 1980

Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) - Alaska, December 2, 1980

Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument - Texas, August 31, 1965. Authorized as Alibates Flint Quarries and Texas Panhandle Pueblo Culture NM, 1965. Redesgnated Alibates Flint Quarries NM, 1978.

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site - Pennsylvania, August 31, 1964

Amistad National Recreation Area - Texas, November 11, 1965. Authorized as Amistad Recreation Area, 1965. Redesignated Amistad NRA, 1990.

Andersonville National Historic Site - Georgia, October 16, 1970

Andrew Johnson National Historic Site - Tennessee, August 29, 1935. Authorized as Andrew Johnson National Monument, 1935. Redesignated Andrew Johnson NHS, 1963.

Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve - Alaska, December 1, 1978. Authorized as Aniakchak National Monument, 1978. Incorporated in Aniakchak NM and Preserve by ANILCA 1980.

Antietam National Battlefield - Maryland, August 30, 1890. Authorized as National Battlefield Site, changed to National Battlefield, 1978.

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore - Wisconsin, September 26, 1970

Appalachian National Scenic Trail - Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia. October 2, 1968

Appomattox Court House National Historic Park - Virginia, June 18, 1930. Authorized as Appomattox Court House monument, 1930. Redesignated Appomattox Court House National Historical Monument, 1935. Redesignated a National Historic Park 1954.

Arches National Park - Utah, April 12, 1929. Authorized as Arches National Monument, 1929. Redesignated Arches National Park, 1978.

Arkansas Post National Memorial - Arkansas, July 6, 1960

Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial - Virginia, March 4, 1925. Restoration authorized as Lee Mansion, 1925. Designated Custis-Lee Mansion 1955. Redesignated Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial, 1972.

Assateague Island National Seashore - Maryland and Virginia, September 21, 1965

Aztec Ruins National Monument - New Mexico, January 24, 1923. Authorized as Aztec Ruin National Monument, 1923. Redesignated Aztec Ruins NM, 1928.

B

Badlands National Park - South Dakota, March 4, 1929. Authorized as Badlands National Monument, 1929. Redesignated Badlands National Park, 1978.

Bandelier National Monument - New Mexico, February 11, 1916

Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument - Washington, D.C., April 12, 2016.

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site - Colorado, June 3, 1960

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve - Alaska, December 1, 1978. Authorized as Bering Land Bridge National Monument, 1978. Redesignated Bering National Preserve by ANILCA 1980.

Big Bend National Park - Texas, June 20, 1935

Big Cypress National Preserve - Florida, October 11, 1974

Big Hole National Battlefield - Montana, June 23, 1910. Authorized as Big Hole Battlefield National, 1910. Redesignated Big Hole National Battlefield, 1963.

Big South Fork National Recreation Area - Kentucky and Tennessee, March 7, 1974

Big Thicket National Preserve - Texas, October 11, 1974

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area - Wyoming and Montana, December 31, 1964

Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument - Birmingham, Alabama, January 11, 2017.

Biscayne National Park - Florida, October 18, 1968. Authorized as Biscayne National Monument, 1968. Incorporated in Biscayne NP, June 28, 1980.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park - Colorado, March 2, 1933. Authorized as Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument, 1933. Redesignated Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, 1999.

Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park - Rhode Island/Massachusetts, December 19, 2014.

Blue Ridge Parkway - North Carolina and Virginia, June 16, 1933

Bluestone National Recreation Area - West Virginia, December 26, 1988

Booker T. Washington National Monument - Virginia, April 2, 1956

Boston African American National Historic Site - Massachusetts, October 10, 1980

Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area - Massachusetts, November 12, 1996

Boston National Historic Park - Massachusetts, October 1, 1974

Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield - Mississippi, February 21, 1929

Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site - Kansas, October 26, 1992

Bryce Canyon National Park - Utah, June 8, 1923. Authorized as Bryce Canyon National Monument, 1923. Redesignated Utah National Park, 1924. Name changed to current in 1928.

Buck Island Reef National Monument - Virgin Islands, December 28, 1961

Buffalo National River - Arkansas, March 1, 1972

C

Cabrillo National Monument - California, October 14, 1913

Canaveral National Seashore Florida January 3, 1975

Cane River Creole National Historic Park Louisiana November 2, 1994

Canyon de Chelly National Monument - Arizona, February 14, 1931

Canyonlands National Park - Utah, September 12, 1964

Cape Cod National Seashore - Massachusetts, August 7, 1961

Cape Hatteras National Seashore - North Carolina, August 17, 1937

Cape Krusenstern National Monument - Alaska, December 1, 1978

Cape Lookout National Seashore - North Carolina, March 10, 1966

Capitol Reef National Park - Utah, August 2, 1937. Authorized as Capital Reef National Monument, 1937. Redesignated Capital Reef National Park, 1971.

Capulin Volcano National Monument - New Mexico, August 9, 1916. Authorized as Capulin Mountain National Monument, 1916. Redesignated Capulin Volcano NM 1987.

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site - North Carolina, October 17, 1968

Carlsbad Caverns National Park - New Mexico, October 25, 1923. Authorized as Carlsbad Cave National Monument, 1923. Redesignated Carlsbad Caverns National Park, 1930.

Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site - District of Columbia, February 27, 2006

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument - Arizona, March 2, 1889. Authorized as Casa Grande Ruin Reservation, 1889. Redesignated Casas Grande National Monument 1918. Redesignated Casas Grande Ruins National Monument 1926.

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument - Florida October 15, 1924. Authorized as Fort Marion National Monument, 1924. Redesignated Castillo de San Marcos NM, 1942.

Castle Clinton National Monument - New York, August 12, 1946

Catoctin Mountain Park - Maryland, November 14, 1936. Authorized as Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area, 1936. Redesignated Catoctin Mountain Park, 1954.

Cedar Breaks National Monument - Utah, August 22, 1933

Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historic Park - Virginia December 19, 2002

Chaco Culture National Historic Park - New Mexico, March 11, 1907. Incorporated Chaco Canyon National Monument 1907. Redesignated Chaco Culture NHP, December 19, 1980. Chamizal National Memorial Texas June 30, 1966

Chamizal National Memorial - Texas, February 4, 1974.

Channel Islands National Park - California, April 26, 1938. Authorized as Channel Islands National Monument, 1938. Incorporated as Channel Islands NP, March 5, 1980.

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site - South Carolina, September 8, 1988

Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument - Ohio, March 25, 2013.

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area - Georgia, August 15, 1978

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park - Maryland, District of Columbia, West Virginia, September 23, 1938. Acquired 1938. Designated National Monument, 1961. Redesignated Chesapeake and Ohio Canal NHP, January 8, 1971.

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park - Georgia and Tennessee, August 19, 1890

Chickasaw National Recreation Area - Oklahoma, July 1, 1902. Authorized as Sulphur Springs Reservation in 1902. Redesignated Platt National Park, 1906. Arbuckle National Recreation Area authorized February 1, 1965. Incorporated Arbuckle NRA and Platt NP in Chicasaw NRA, March 17, 1976.

Chiricahua National Monument - Arizona, April 18, 1924

Christiansted National Historic Site - Virgin Islands, March 4, 1952. Authorized as Virgin Islands National Historic Site, 1952. Redesignated Christiansted National Historic Site, 1961.

City of Rocks National Reserve - Idaho, November 18, 1988

Clara Barton National Historic Site - Maryland, October 26, 1974

Colonial National Historic Park - Virginia, July 3, 1930. Authorized as Colonial National Monument, 1930. Redesignated Colonial National Historic Park, 1936.

Colorado National Monument - Colorado, May 24, 1911

Congaree National Park - South Carolina, October 18, 1976. Authorized as Congaree Swamp National Park, 1976. Incorporated Congaree Swamp NP to Congaree NP, November 10, 2003.

Constitution Gardens - Washington, D.C., 1982.

Coronado National Memorial - Arizona, July 9, 1952

Cowpens National Battlefield - South Carolina, March 4, 1929. Authorized as Cowpens National Battlefield Site, 1929. Redesignated Cowpens National Battlefield, 1972.

Crater Lake National Park - Oregon, May 22, 1902

Craters of the Moon National Monument - Idaho, May 2, 1924. Additional lands established August 21, 2002

Cumberland Gap National Historic Park - Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, June 11, 1940

Cumberland Island National Seashore - Georgia, October 23, 1972

Curecanti National Recreation Area - Colorado, February 2, 1965

Cuyahoga Valley National Park - Ohio, December 27, 1974

Cesar Chavez National Monument - California, October 8, 2012

History Photo Bomb

Appalachian Trail

Crater Lake

Glacier National Park

Castle Pinckney National Monument, South Carolina established October 15, 1924, and abolished in 1956. Atlanta Campaign National Historic Site, Georgia established October 13, 1944, and abolished in 1950. Constitution Gardens established August 1, 1974. Some additional changes post 2003 have not yet been added to the list.

• Other Park Notes

Teepossible T-shirts and Gifts, including the official souvenirs from Americasbesthistory.com

Our Partners

History of Baseball, Stat by Stat. Check out Stat Geek Baseball.