National Trust lists 'most endangered' historic sites in U.S.

June 26, 2000
Web posted at: 10:19 a.m. EDT (1419 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The National Trust for Historic Preservation is warning Americans to protect their historic sites -- before they're history.

In a report released Monday, the Trust lists 11 places it calls "most endangered," including the summer home in Washington where Abraham Lincoln drafted the Emancipation Proclamation.

Also listed were buildings in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, that housed George Washington and the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

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"We either save them now or we lose them forever," said National Trust President Richard Moe.

The Trust blames urban sprawl and construction for the threats to some of the sites, and decay and neglect at others.

"America's irreplaceable heritage is always at risk," Moe said. "We must ring the alarm to save these places through awareness, education, funding and policy changes."

The other sites on the group's 2000 list are:

  • The Dwight D. Eisenhower V.A. Medical Center, Leavenworth, Kansas, because 39 historic buildings may be torn down

  • Historic neighborhood schools nationwide, where abandonment, demolition and suburban sprawl threaten these community icons

  • The Hudson River Valley, New York, where industrialization and sprawl threaten the scenic area rich in historic landmarks

A view of Anderson Cottage, Abraham LIncoln's summer retreat home where he drafted the Emancipation Proclamation

  • Fifth and Forbes Historic Retail area, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where historic buildings are to be demolished for shopping and an entertainment complex

  • Nantucket, Massachusetts, where renovations and demolition of old buildings threaten the island's historic character

  • Okeechobee Battlefield, Florida, where development threatens the Second Seminole War battlefield

  • Red Mountain Mining District, Ouray and San Juan Counties, Colorado, where sprawl and logging threaten to overwhelm historic mining sites

  • Santa Anita Racetrack, Arcadia, California, where planned expansion will ruin the historic Art Deco structure

  • Wheelock Academy, Millerton, Oklahoma, where Native American school buildings are deteriorating

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National Trust for Historic Preservation
  • America's Eleven Most Endangered Historic Places
  • Valley Forge

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