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Parks and LGBTQ Heritage

Ranger hat placed on the the grass next to the rainbow pride flag and trans pride flag.
A park rangers flat hat sits atop a sandy dune with an LGBTQ pride flag and Transgender pride flag next to it.

NPS/Sucena

The NPS preserves a variety of places commemorating America's multi-faceted history. The NPS preserves cultural resources, such as buildings, landscapes, archeological sites, and museum collections. They serve as tangible evidence of our collective past.

Find a Park to find more of all Americans' stories.

Celebrate LGBTQ Heritage at parks

  • Facade of Alice Austen House: white siding, grey roof, greenery along roofline
    Gateway National Recreation Area

    One of the US' earliest and most prolific female photographers, Alice Austen shared Clear Comfort with her lifelong companion Gertrude Tate.

  • Two civil war cannons on grass battlefield. White building with columns and rounded roof set back
    Vicksburg National Military Park

    Albert Cashier was assigned female at birth and lived as a man. He fought in forty Civil War battles, including the Siege of Vicksburg.

  • For every 1 million visitors who ride 10 miles on a bike, 500,000 gallons of gas is saved
    Stonewall National Monument

    The Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969 was a major milestone in the quest for LGBTQ civil rights and provided momentum for a movement.

  • White square column atop a shallow copper basin resting on a pedestal
    President's Park

    Butt-Millett Memorial Fountain honors two US officials who perished aboard the RMS Titanic. The two were close friends and possibly lovers.

  • Exterior view of Castle Williams (brick building) on Governors Island, New York
    Governors Island National Monument

    After serving in the US Army at Governors Island, Henry Gerber co-founded the Society for Human Rights to combat gay and lesbian oppression.

  • Winding path up grassy hill. Tree covered hills in background
    Anza National Historic Trail

    In the Southwest, two-spirits were respected and entrusted with sacred roles such as being healers, matchmakers, storytellers, or prophets.

Read about these Additional Parks with LGBTQ Heritage

Alaska National Park Service

Created by the Alaska National Park Service, this video series recognizes, celebrates, and honors the rich diversity of the US, including the LGBTQ community. Employees share stories of their own early struggles as well as encouragement for others.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area

During WWII, rejection from military service based on sexuality began to make headlines. LGBTQ veterans rallied to overcome these obstacles and launch LGBTQ rights movements in San Francisco and nationwide.

Fire Island National Seashore

From Oscar Wilde’s visit to the island in 1882, to the steady development of Cherry Grove as “America's First Gay and Lesbian Town,” Fire Island has long been a home and haven to LGBTQ visitors and residents alike.

Independence National Historical Park

From sit-ins drawing attention to gender non-conforming discrimination to one of the country's first LGBTQ bookstores, Philadelphia's LGBTQ history follows the city's rich tradition of protest and activism.

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

There have been LGBTQ members of the Longfellow family as long as there have been Longfellows. Family members' personal papers give insight into these relationships.

National AIDS Memorial Grove

A place of beauty, serenity, and local and national prominence, the Memorial Grove gives a sense of honor and a home in our national landscape for the millions of lives touched by AIDS.

Valley Forge National Historical Park

The statue of General von Steuben honors the Prussian-born Revolutionary War general who has recently been embraced as the “gay man who saved the American Revolution."

Mammoth Cave National Park

The first woman to take a series of photographs in Mammoth Cave, Frances Benjamin Johnston was no stranger to journalism or the support of women who walked on the edges of traditional female roles. She later opened a photographic studio with her partner, Mattie Edwards Hewitt, in New York.

Boston National Historical Park

Boston’s LGBTQ community booked Faneuil Hall for its first Gay and Lesbian Town Meeting in 1977. The meetings deliberately imitated the old Boston town meeting as a nod to the revolutionary era and a symbol of the LGBTQ movement’s legitimacy in the history of American political protest.

Boston African American National Historic Site

Over the past 200 years, the Charles Street Meetinghouse has served a safe haven for some of Boston’s radical thinkers. By 1970, the Meetinghouse became synonymous with radical acceptance, hosting LGBTQ-friendly social events and welcoming the community.

Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail

Since 1958, the First Unitarian Society of Denver has engaged in causes related to social and racial justice, including LGBTQ civil rights.

Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

Val-Kill has been an inclusive place since its creation in 1926. Learn more about the important contributions of LGBTQ people who made history at Eleanor Roosevelt's home.

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Last updated: June 2, 2023