National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation was headquartered in the Watergate complex, Washington, D.C.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation aims to empower local preservationists by providing leadership to save and revitalize America's historic places, and by working on both national policies as well as local preservation campaigns through its network of field offices and preservation partners, including the National Park Service, State Historic Preservation Offices, and local preservation groups.[1]

The National Trust is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with field operations located throughout the country. The organization is governed by a board of trustees and led by president & CEO, Paul Edmondson.[2] As of January 2020, the National Trust reports that it has around 300,000 members and supporters.[3]

In addition to leading campaigns and advocacy, the National Trust provides a growing educational resource through the Preservation Leadership Forum, which offers articles, journals, case studies, and conferences and training. The National Trust issues the quarterly Preservation magazine as well as online stories.[4]

The National Trust’s current work focuses on building sustainable communities through the adaptive reuse of historic spaces; preserving and empowering cultural diversity through protecting sites of cultural significance; advocating for greater stewardship of historic places on public land; and leading innovation in the management of historic properties.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation's former headquarters of 35 years, the Andrew Mellon Building, located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The National Trust moved its headquarters to the Watergate complex in 2013.

Toward the end of the 19th century, in response to increased immigration and the broad effort of rebuilding after the Civil War, the country was developing a renewed sense of national identity and history. The government began to enact legislation for the preservation of sites and objects deemed significant to the nation’s history. In 1872, an Act of Congress established the first National Park, Yellowstone.[5] In 1906, the Antiquities Act enabled the President to declare landmarks or objects as a national monument.[5] Then in 1935, during the Great Depression, Congress passed the Historic Sites Act, which outlined programs for research and inventory of historic sites.[6]

Meanwhile, historic preservation initiatives existed on local and state levels. In 1931, Charleston, South Carolina created the first historic district for protection.[7] However, efforts to save and maintain historic sites were still largely limited to private citizens or local groups.

In the late 1940s, leaders in American historic preservation saw the need for a national organization to support local preservation efforts. In 1946, David E. Finley Jr., George McAneny, Christopher Crittenden, and Ronald Lee met at the National Gallery of Art to discuss the formation of such a national organization.[8] This meeting was followed by a larger gathering on April 15, 1947, attended by representatives from a number of art, architectural, and historical societies, which culminated in the creation of the National Council for Historic Sites and Buildings.[8] The meeting’s attendants became the first charter members of the council.[9] The organization’s first headquarters was in the offices of Ford’s Theatre (Lincoln Museum) in downtown Washington, D.C.[10]

The Council pursued the formation of a National Trust for Historic Preservation, somewhat modeled on the British National Trust, which would be tasked with the acquisition and maintenance of historic properties.[9] The creation of the National Trust was proposed as a bill to Congress, H.R. 5170, introduced by Congressman J. Hardin Peterson of Florida and passed.[11]

The private, nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation was formally established by charter through the Act of Congress when President Harry S. Truman signed the legislation on October 26, 1949. The charter provided that the Trust should acquire and preserve historic sites and objects of national significance and provide annual reports to Congress on its activities.[11] Finley served as the National Trust's first chairman of the board, remaining in the position for 12 years.[12] Archaeologist Richard Hubbard Howland became the nonprofit's first president in 1956.[13]

Woodlawn Plantation & Pope-Leighey House, Alexandria, Virginia was the first site acquired for the National Trust portfolio.

The National Trust and the National Council existed side by side for several years until the need to merge resources compelled the executive committee to integrate the two entities. In 1952, the boards of both organizations approved a merger of the Council into the National Trust.[14] The merger was effective the following year and was completed by 1956.[12] The National Trust became a membership organization and assumed all other functions of the National Council.

In its early years, the National Trust’s founders envisioned an organization whose primary purpose would be the acquisition and administration of historic sites, while encouraging public participation in their preservation.[15] In 1957, the National Trust officially acquired its first property, Woodlawn Plantation in northern Virginia.[16] Since then, the National Trust portfolio of historic properties and contracted affiliates has expanded to include twenty-seven historic sites, ranging from the 18th-century Drayton Hall in South Carolina to the Modernist Glass House in Connecticut.[17]

Over the next decade, the National Trust grew to become the leading national organization in historic preservation. They began working with citizens and city planning officials on legislative matters, including federal, state, and municipal ordinances for historic preservation.[18] National Trust staff also traveled to parts of the country to advise local communities on preservation projects.[19]

In 1966, Congress passed the National Historic Preservation Act, significant legislation for the preservation movement. The Act also provided federal funding in support of the National Trust’s work. The funding later ceased in 1996, at which point the National Trust became entirely privately funded.

Following the adoption of the National Historic Preservation Act, the National Trust broadened in its mission beyond administering historic sites. In 1969, the National Trust created the Preservation Services Fund to provide financial assistance to local preservation projects.[20] In 1971, the National Trust opened its first field office in San Francisco.[20] As the organization grew, the National Trust expanded its work, consisting of programs, educational resources, and advocacy. In 1980, the National Trust initiated the National Main Street Center, specializing in revitalizing historic business districts, which has since transitioned into a subsidiary.[20]

The portfolio of National Trust sites has expanded to include Philip Johnson's Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut.

In 2010, Stephanie Meeks became the organization’s president, replacing Richard Moe, who had led the organization for 17 years.[21] She directed the National Trust’s work toward a more focused, cause-based approach, and conducted more robust outreach to local preservationists. As part of this new approach, the National Trust initiated the National Treasures portfolio; it specifically identifies threatened sites and creates strategies to preserve them.

In 2013, the National Trust headquarters moved from the Andrew Mellon Building on 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW in Washington D.C.’s Dupont Circle to the historic Watergate office complex.[22] Meeks said in a statement about the move, "The selection of the Watergate demonstrates our ongoing commitment to recognizing and protecting important places from every era in American history, including the recent past."[22] In 2022, the National Trust headquarters moved from the Watergate to a shared coworking space (located in a former Garfinckel's department store[23]) in downtown D.C.

The National Trust’s programs include publication of the annual list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, first issued in 1988, which highlights endangered sites across the country.

Meeks stepped down as president[24] in December 2018. Former general counsel and chief legal officer Paul Edmondson is serving as president and CEO.

The National Trust’s advocacy arm works to effect policy at the local, state, and federal level. Current advocacy priorities are:

Drayton Hall, Charleston, South Carolina

Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois

The National Trust portfolio of historic sites contains National Trust owned-and-operated sites (stewardship sites), sites owned but not operated by the National Trust (co-stewardships), and contracted affiliates.

Co-stewardships

Cliveden, an important site in the Battle of Germantown

Sites owned or leased by the National Trust and operated by an independent nonprofit organization:

• Belle Grove Plantation, Middletown, Virginia
• Brucemore, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Cliveden, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Drayton Hall, Charleston, South Carolina
• Cooper-Molera Adobe, Monterey, California
• Decatur House, Washington, D.C.
• Filoli, Woodside, California
• James Madison’s Montpelier, near Orange, Virginia
• Kykuit, Tarrytown, New York
• Oatlands Plantation, Leesburg, Virginia
• President Lincoln’s Cottage, Washington, D.C. (President Lincoln's Cottage is owned by the Armed Forces Retirement Home.)

Contracted affiliates

Acoma Pueblo Sky City, Acoma, New Mexico

Sites neither owned nor operated by the National Trust but are included by cooperative agreements:

• Acoma Pueblo Sky City, Acoma, New Mexico
• African Meeting House & Abiel Smith School, Boston, Massachusetts
• African Meeting House & Boston-Higginbotham House, Nantucket, Massachusetts
• Hotel de Paris, Georgetown, Colorado
• Lower East Side Tenement Museum, New York, New York
• Touro Synagogue, Newport, Rhode Island

• Historic Artists' Homes and Studios
• Historic Hudson Valley

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• Official website