A National Historic SiteĀ (NHS) is a nationally recognized site, usually centered around a single building, recognized by the National Park Service as a site of national historic significance. There are 82 National Historic Sites in the United States, most of which are administered by the National Park Service. Based on 2019 (pre-COVID) attendance figures, these were the most popular NHSs related to the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.
#1 Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site (572,373 visitors in 2019)
With nearly 2,000 visitors each day, this scene of the Lincoln Assassination is regularly visited by even casual visitors to Washington, D.C. The boarding house where Lincoln died is across the the street and open to the public, as is a nice museum that was opened in the 21st Century.
#2 Boston African American National Historic Site (419,585 visitors in 2019)
The site is on North Beacon Hill and tells the story of abolition, the Civil War, and Reconstruction in Boston. Included is the history of the 54th Massachusetts regiment.
#3. Lincoln Home National Historic Site (197,816 visitors in 2019)
This is the Springfield, Illinois home of Abraham Lincoln and it is near several other sites associated with his life and work.
#4 Steamtown National Historic Site (105,403 visitors in 2019)
The history of the railroads in America is told at this site in Scranton, Pa. While not focused on the Civil War, and with no operating equipment from the 1860s, it explains the functioning of what became a strategic asset during the war.
#5. Andersonville National Historic Site (103,635 visitors in 2019)
This rural Georgia site gives visitors a chance to look at the deadly conditions in Civil War prisons.
#6. Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (61,063 visitors in 2019)
Visitors to Washington, D.C. can take an easy side-trip to Anacostia to visit the Reconstruction Era home of a leader of the Black community during the pre-war, Civil War, and Reconstruction periods.
#7. Longfellow House Washington’s HQ National Historic Site (55,012 visitors in 2019)
A trip to Cambridge during a vacation in Boston takes you to the home of one of the greatest poets of the Civil War Era. Longfellow’s “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” was as much about the impending Civil War as it was about the Revolution.
#8. Fort Davis National Historic Site (51,995 visitors in 2019)
This fort was established in Western Texas in 1854 and was occupied by the U.S. Army at the start of the secession crisis. It was later occupied by the Confederate forces.
#9. Andrew Johnson National Historic Site (51,189 visitors in 2019)
The Tennessee home of one our worst presidents is still a popular stop on visits to the mountainous eastern part of the state.
#10. Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (49,861 visitors in 2019)
Hopewell, west of Philadelphia, was at the height of prosperity in the 1840s, but it saw a second surge in production during the Civil War. The steel foundry is representative of the kinds of industry that helped sustain the Union army.
#11. James A. Garfield National Historic Site (41,305 visitors in 2019)
James Garfield served as a major general during the Civil War. In Congress he supported Black civil rights and opposed the policies of President Andrew Johnson. In 1880 he was elected president and he was assassinated.
#12. John Muir National Historic Site (40,725 visitors in 2019)
John Muir, the famous environmentalist, was a Scottish immigrant who moved to Canada during the Civil War with his brother who was avoiding the draft. After the war, he moved back to the United States. He became an advocate during Reconstruction for the protection of natural sites around the country, particularly focusing on unique sites like Yosemite.
#13. Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site (39,449 visitors in 2019)
Grant’s home in the late 1850s near St. Louis has extensive programming on his military career and presidency.
#14. Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site (36,395 visitors in 2019)
Tuskegee Institute was established in 1881 in Alabama to train Black schoolteachers. It became identified with George Washington Carver, who advocated for the pursuit of goals that improved the lives of African Americans without challenging white supremacy. Note: The George Washington Carver Museum is currently closed.
#15. Hampton National Historic Site (28,234 visitors in 2019)
Hampton was a lavish plantation home in Maryland worked by enslaved Blacks. The son of its pro-Confederate owner formed an armed band in 1861 to fight on the side of the Confederacy.
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