Take a peek inside America's Sacred Sites
We have all encountered a place where history happened—a place where something or someone started, was born, ended, or died. An event occurred here that changed the course of history. Perhaps it was something enormous, or perhaps it was more simply an observation that was exactly what that person needed right then to continue working on a challenge or an idea. Even if that event was long ago, if we’re lucky, when we visit that place something in us stirs too, and makes us feel different—maybe a nervous excitement, a subdued dread, or a mind-freeing aha!— and we can feel that God is still working in that very place, years later.
In the United States, many of those important places have been set aside, protected by the National Park Service or its state and local counterparts specifically so that we can experience those moments when we let our guard down, have a heightened awareness, and hear God nudging us in a new direction.
Welcome to America’s Sacred Sites. We invite you to dig into a National Park Service site from each of the fifty states. We hope you’ll travel vicariously through this book and then take it along on your next adventure.
Alabama • Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail • Progress
Alaska • Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park • Adventure
Arizona • Tuzigoot National Monument • Community
Arkansas • Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site • Courage
California • Golden Gate National Recreation Area • Fun
Colorado • Dinosaur National Monument • Preservation
Connecticut • Weir Farm National Historic Site • Expression
Delaware • First State National Historical Park • Consensus
Florida • Canaveral National Seashore • Contrast
Georgia • Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park • Hope
Hawaii • Pearl Harbor National Memorial • Silence
Idaho • Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve • Amazement
Illinois • Pullman National Monument • Labor
Indiana • Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial • Origins
Iowa • Effigy Mounds National Monument • Dominion
Kansas • Nicodemus National Historic Site • Exodus
Kentucky • Cumberland Gap National Historical Park • Pathway
Louisiana • New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park • Music
Maine • Appalachian National Scenic Trail • Preparation
Maryland • Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park • Risk
Massachusetts • Fredrick Law Olmsted National Historic Site • Design
Michigan • Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore • Patience
Minnesota • Grand Portage National Monument • Seeds
Mississippi • Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail • Pilgrimage
Missouri • George Washington Carver National Monument • Curiosity
Montana • Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument • Reason
Nebraska • Homestead National Monument of America • Worthiness
Nevada • Lake Mead National Recreation Area • Recreation
New Hampshire • Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park • Creativity
New Jersey • Thomas Edison National Historical Park • Transformation
New Mexico • Bandelier National Monument • Shelter
New York • Statue of Liberty National Monument • Alien
North Carolina • Wright Brothers National Memorial • Inspiration
North Dakota • Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site • Hospitality
Ohio • Hopewell Culture National Historical Park • History
Oklahoma • Oklahoma City National Memorial • Innocence
Oregon • John Day Fossil Beds National Monument • Ancient
Pennsylvania • Independence National Historical Park • Liberty
Rhode Island • Roger Williams National Memorial • Religious Freedom
South Carolina • Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park • Conflict
South Dakota • Mount Rushmore National Memorial • Leadership
Tennessee • Manhattan Project National Historical Park • Choices
Texas • San Antonio Missions National Historical Park • Learning
Utah • Golden Spike National Historical Park • Determination
Vermont • Marsh-Billings- Rockefeller National Historical Park • Stewardship
Virginia • Appomattox Court House National Historical Park • Mercy
Washington • Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail • Recovery
West Virginia • Harpers Ferry National Historical Park • Resistance
Wisconsin • Apostle Islands National Lakeshore • Light
Wyoming • Devils Tower National Monument • Sacred
The book
Each entry includes several photos of the park, people associated with it, or the history connected to it. From the splendor of the starry skies at Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado to the technology of Thomas Edison's workshop in New Jersey, America's Sacred Sites showcases the diversity of the National Park Service's 400+ units.
