National Heritage Area

Map of the National Heritage Areas in US as of 2009

In the United States, A National Heritage Area is a site designated by Act of Congress, intended to encourage historic preservation of the area and an appreciation of the history and heritage of the site. There are currently 55 National Heritage Areas, some of which use variations of the title, such as National Heritage Corridor.^[1]

National Heritage Areas (NHAs) are not National Park Service units or federally owned or managed land. NHAs are administered by state governments or non-profit organizations or other private corporations, referred to as local coordinating entities. The National Park Service provides an advisory role and limited technical, planning and financial assistance.

Each area has its own authorizing legislation and a set of unique resources and goals. Areas considered for designation must have specific elements. First, the landscape must be a nationally unique natural, cultural, historic, or scenic resource. Second, when the related sites are linked, they must tell a unique story about the U.S.^[2]

The first NHA created, the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor, located in Illinois, was signed into legislation by President Ronald Regan on August 21, 1984.

The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 laid out procedures for planning and management of NHAs and designated six new NHAs.

List of National Heritage Areas[]

There are 55 National Heritage Areas, listed below with their respective local coordinating entity:

• Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area—, Illinois
• Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area—, West Virginia and Maryland
• Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area—, Georgia
• Atchafalaya National Heritage Area—, Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, Louisiana
• Augusta Canal National Heritage Area—, Georgia
• Baltimore National Heritage Area—City of Baltimore, Maryland
• Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, Massachusetts/Rhode Island
• Blue Ridge National Heritage Area—Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership, North Carolina
• Cache La Poudre River Corridor—, Colorado
• Cane River National Heritage Area—Cane River National Heritage Area Commission, Louisiana
• Champlain Valley National Heritage Area—, New York/Vermont
• Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area—Crossroads of the American Revolution Association, New Jersey
• Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor—, Pennsylvania
• Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor—Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, New York
• Essex National Heritage Area—Essex National Heritage Commission, Massachusetts
• Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area—, Kansas/Missouri
• Freedom's Way National Heritage Area, Massachusetts/New Hampshire
• Great Basin National Heritage Area—, Nevada/Utah
• Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor—, Florida/Georgia/North Carolina/South Carolina
• Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area—Hudson River Valley Greenway, New York
• Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor—Canal Corridor Association, Illinois
• John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor—, Massachusetts/Rhode Island
• Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area—, Maryland/Pennsylvania/Virginia/West Virginia
• Kenai Mountains - Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area, Alaska
• Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor, Massachusetts, Connecticut
• Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area—, Pennsylvania
• Maritime Washington National Heritage Area—, Washington
• Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area—, Mississippi
• Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area—Office of Coastal Management and Planning, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Mississippi
• Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area—, Mississippi
• Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area—, Utah
• MotorCities National Heritage Area, Michigan
• Mountains to Sound Greenway—Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Washington
• Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area—University of North Alabama, Alabama
• National Aviation Heritage Area—, Ohio
• National Coal Heritage Area—, West Virginia
• Niagara Falls National Heritage Area, New York
• Northern Plains National Heritage Area, North Dakota
• Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, New Mexico
• Ohio & Erie National Heritage Canal Way—, Ohio
• Oil Region National Heritage Area—, Pennsylvania
• Path of Progress National Heritage Tour Route—Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission, Pennsylvania
• Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor—, Connecticut
• Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area—, Pennsylvania
• Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area—, California
• Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area—, Arizona
• Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area—, Colorado
• Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area, Pennsylvania
• Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District—, Virginia
• Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area, Iowa
• South Carolina National Heritage Corridor—South Carolina National Heritage Corridor, Inc., South Carolina
• South Park National Heritage Area—Tourism and Community Development Office, Park County, Colorado
• Susquehanna National Heritage Area—, Pennsylvania
• Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area—Center for Historic Preservation, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee
• Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area—, Connecticut/Massachusetts
• Wheeling National Heritage Area—, West Virginia
• Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area—Riverfront Development Office, Arizona/California

See also[]

• Hispanic Heritage Sites (U.S. National Park Service)
• African-American Heritage Sites (U.S. National Park Service)
• Native American Heritage Sites (U.S. National Park Service)
• Women's History Sites (U.S. National Park Service)

References[]

External links[]

• National Park Service: Official National Heritage Areas website