Full List of Theme Studies

This page provides a complete list of NHL theme studies. Please be aware that older theme studies often provide much less historic context than do recent studies, and may simply consist of a list of properties (some of which are designated NHLs and some of which may be eligible for NHL designation) that relate to a given theme.

NHL Theme Studies

• African American Outdoor Recreation (2022)
• American Aviation Heritage (rev. 2011)
• American Latino Heritage (2013)
  American Latino Heritage NHL Registration Guidelines (2022)
• Archaic Shell Rings of the Southeast U.S. (2006)
• Architecture in the Parks (1986)
• Astronomy and Astrophysics (1989)
• Civil Rights in America: Racial Desegregation of Public Accommodations (2004, rev. 2009)
• Civil Rights in America: Racial Desegregation in Public Education in the United States (2000); supplement (2004)
• Civil Rights in America: Racial Discrimination in Housing (2021)
• Civil Rights in America: Racial Voting Rights (2007, rev. 2009)
• The Clash of Cultures Indian Trails Project (2002)
• Colonials and Patriots: Historic Places Commemorating Our Forebears, 1700–1783 (1964)
• Contact with the Indians
• The Earliest Americans Theme Study for the Eastern United States (2005)
• Early Indian Farmers and Village Communities (1963) and supplement
• The Era of Reconstruction: 1861–1900 (2017)
• Finding a Path Forward: Asian American Pacific Islander National Historic Landmarks Theme Study (2017)
• Geology (1990)
• Here Was the Revolution: Historic Sites of the War for American Independence (1977)
• Historic Contact: Early Relations Between Indian People and Colonists in Northeastern North America, 1524–1783 (1992)
• The History of Large Federal Dams: Planning, Design, and Construction (2005)
• Japanese Americans in World War II (2012)
• The Advance of the Frontier: 1763–1830
  • The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1958) and list of associated NHLs
  • Lewis and Clark: Historic Places Commemorating Their Transcontinental Exploration (1804–1806) (1975)
• Labor Archeology of the Industrial Era (2015)
• Labor History in the United States (2022)
• LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History (2016)
• Literature, Drama and Music (1962)
• Man in Space: Parts 1 and 2 (1984); Man in Space thematic article
• Maritime Heritage of the United States: Lightships in the United States (1989)
• Mission 66 Visitor Centers: The History of a Building Type (2000)
• The Presidents of the United States: Historic Places Commemorating the Chief Executives of the United States (1976)
• Protecting America: Cold War Defensive Sites (2022)
• Recreation in the United States (1986). Available for download (accessible PDF 2.0 MB).
• Russian America (1987)
• Scientific Discoveries and Inventions vol. 1 (1964) and vol. 2 (1965)
• Signers of the Constitution: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Constitution (1974)
• Signers of the Declaration: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Declaration of Independence (1974)
• Southern Florida Sites Associated with the Tequesta and Their Ancestors (2004)
• Spanish Exploration and Settlement (1959)
• Travel and Communication (1963)
• Underground Railroad Resources in the United States (rev. 2000)
• The U.S. Constitution (1986)
• Warships Associated with World War II in the Pacific (1985)
• Westward Expansion and Extension of the National Boundaries to the Pacific, 1830–1898
  • The Mining Frontier (1959)
• World War II and the American Home Front (2007)
• World War II in the Pacific (1984)

The theme studies listed below are out of print or otherwise unavailable:

• 19th-Century American Architecture, 1784–1880 (1971)
• 19th-Century Architecture: Georgia (1973)
• Agriculture and the Farmer's Frontier (1963)
• Architecture in North Carolina (1973)
• Black Americans in United States History (1974)
• Colonial Architecture of the Southern Colonies (1969)
• Commerce and Industry (1966)
  • Arts and Sciences
  • Education
  • Literature Drama and Music (1962)
• Conservation of Natural Resources (1963)
• Development of the English Colonies 1700–1775 (1960)
  • Dutch and Swedish Exploration and Settlement (1961)
  • English Exploration and Settlement (1960)
  • French Exploration and Settlement (1960)
• Landscape Architecture in National and State Parks
• New England Architecture 1784–1880 (1970)
• Painting and Sculpture (1965)
• Political and Military Affairs
  • 1783–1830 (1959)
  • 1830–1860 (1960)
  • 1865–1912 (1963)
  • After 1914 (1972)
• Signers of the Constitution-Middle Atlantic and New England States (1973)
• Sites Associated with American Authors (1971)
• Sites in the Southern Colonies Associated with the War for Independence (1973)
• Sites in the Middle Colonies Associated with the War for Independence (1972)
• Sites in New England Associated with the War for Independence (1972)
• Social and Humanitarian Movements (1965)
• The Civil War (1959)
• The War for Independence (1960)
• Village Sites of the Middle Missouri Subarea A.D. 1000–A.D. 1887 (1994)
• Westward Expansion and Extension of the National Boundaries to the Pacific, 1830–1898
  • The Cattleman's Empire (1959)
  • The Farmer's Frontier (1959)
  • The Fur Trade (1960)
  • Great Explorers of the West (1960)
  • Military and Indian Affairs (1959)
  • Overland Migration West of the Mississippi (1959)
  • The Santa Fe Trail (1963)
  • The Texas Revolution and Mexican War (1959)
  • Transportation and Communication (1963)