Chapter 7:
Other Emergency Period Programs
HISTORIC SITES ACT OF 1935
The first section of the Historic Sites Act of 1935
reads, "That it is hereby declared that it is a national policy to
preserve for public use historic sites, buildings and objects of
national significance for the inspiration and benefit of the people of
the United States." It is hard to figure how a policy could be written
any simpler and yet cover such a broad, all inclusive purpose.
The second section describes the duties to be
performed by the secretary of the interior, through the National Park
Service, in effectuating the policy expressed in the act. These duties
are: collating data, surveys, etc. that illustrate United States
history; carrying out investigations and research; acquiring property;
protecting religious groups; providing for funds; and making cooperative
agreements with other organizations and political bodies to restore,
reconstruct, rehabilitate, preserve, and maintain historic or prehistoric
sites, buildings, and objects. It further gives the secretary
authority to provide tablets and markers, operate buildings, make
contracts with concessionaires, conduct educational programs, establish
rules and regulations, and define penalties for violations. Although
the National Park Service had acquired historic sites and objects under
the 1906 Antiquities Act, and the 1916 act establishing the National
Park Service, the Historic Sites Act of 1935 spelled out and assigned
definite responsibility for protecting and interpreting the history of
man on this continent.
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The home of the founder of the American
Red Cross, now preserved as Clara Barton National Historic Site,
Maryland, was the organization's headquarters for seven years.
Courtesy National Park Service.
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Section three provides for the establishment of the
Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings, and
Monuments to be composed of not more than eleven citizens of the United
States, including representatives competent in the fields of history,
archaeology, architecture, and human geography. They are appointed by
the secretary. Shortly after the act became law a very talented group of
people in various professional fields were appointed to the advisory
board by the secretary. They had no set terms and they stayed on until
they resigned or were replaced. It wasn't until the late forties that
Secretary Oscar Chapman established staggered terms of six years for the
members. The original board served the secretary and the National Park
Service with distinction, and the committees of Congress depended to a
great extent on its recommendations.
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The Advisory Board on National Parks,
Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments at a meeting in Grand Teton
National Park, September 7-9, 1955. Left to right: Walter L.
Huber, California; Horace M. Albright, California; Harold S. Wagner,
Ohio; Conrad L. Wirth, director, National Park Service; Alfred A. Knopf,
chairman, New York; Dr. Turpin C. Bannister, Illinois; Dr. John O. Brew,
Massachusetts; Dr. E. Raymond Hall, Kansas; Dr. Charles G. Woodbury,
Washington, D.C.; John B. Oakes, New York.
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I believe Congress still relies on the board's
advice, but, I am informed, to a lesser degree than formerly. In my
opinion the reason is that people have been appointed who do not have
the qualifications to make sound professional recommendations in
accordance with the intent of the law. In fact, there have been several
appointed for political reasons or for their contributions to political
parties, possibly as a form of personal recognition for there is no
salary attached to these appointments. I see no objection to politically
oriented appointees as long as they are professionals qualified to
fulfill the responsibilities of the office.
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| Natural Areas |
Historic Areas |
Recreation Areas |
Other Areas |
Total |
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1916 | 26 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 35 |
1933 |
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Before reorganization | 46 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 66 |
After reorganization | 38 | 77 | 1 | 1 | 137 |
1964 | 65 | 144 | 16 | 1 | 226 |
1972 | 74 | 172 | 36 | 2 | 284 |
1978 | 84 | 184 | 51 | 1 | 320 |
From Ronald F. Lee, Family Tree of the National Park System
(Philadelphia: Eastern National Park and Monument Association, 1972), p. 88.
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The Historic Sites act is of tremendous importance to
the nation, and a good deal of credit is due to the National Park
Service chief historian of that time, Dr. Verne E. Chatelain, for its
effectiveness. I must make clear that while the act is referred to as
the Historic Sites Act, the board's responsibility applied to the
Park Service as a whole, not just to historic areas. Keep in mind that
when the National Park Service was established, in 1916, there were
fourteen national parks and twenty-one national monuments, seven of
which dealt with history, three each in Arizona and New Mexico and one
in Alaska. By 1933, before reorganization, the system had grown to
sixty-six areas, of which forty-six were classified as natural areas and
twenty as historic areas. The preceding table shows the increase in the
number of areas in the national park system before and since the 1933
reorganization.
The big expansion in the national park system and in
state parks initiated in the CCC period was further encouraged by
Mission 66; this program stimulated federal legislation for the
preservation of natural and historic sites and promoted the development
at all levels of government of historic, recreational, and natural
areas.
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