• Image of swamp, bayou, and marsh

    Jean Lafitte

    National Historical Park and Preserve Louisiana

The National Parks---Americas Best Idea

Blue sky is reflected in a bayou ringed with baldcypress trees and marsh grasses

Jean Lafitte and the National Park Service protect historic places, cultural traditions, and beautiful ecosystems like the Barataria Preserve

America's national parks have been called "the best idea we ever had." The United States was not the first country to protect natural wonders and historic places, but it was the first to say that these places belong to everyone.

In 2010 the Public Broadcasting System and filmmaker Ken Burns shared the story of America's national parks, the places that belong to all the people. Help the National Park Service make "America's Best Idea" even better by visiting and supporting your national parks. To find out ways to support Jean Lafitte, click here.

Did You Know?

Men dressed as 1815 soldiers march across Chalmette Battlefield.

Two volunteer battalions of free men of color fought in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. These men were the first black American troops to receive pay, equipment, pensions, and bounty land grants equal to that of their white counterparts.