Haaland establishes national park site in Texas

By Rob Hotakainen | 07/17/2024 01:33 PM EDT

The Blackwell School National Historic Site is the 430th national park unit and the seventh designated during the Biden administration.

The Blackwell School in Marfa, Texas.

The Blackwell School in Marfa, Texas, was the only public school for Mexican and Mexican American children in the city from 1909 to 1965. Gretel Enck and Bonnie Wilson/Texas State Historic Preservation Office/National Park Service

A former segregated school attended by Latino children in West Texas in the 1900s became the country’s latest national park site Wednesday.

In a long-awaited move, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland made it official by establishing the Blackwell School National Historic Site in Marfa, Texas, as a new unit of the National Park Service.

It’s the nation’s 430th national park site and the seventh designated during the Biden administration.

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Haaland, who oversees NPS, said the designation “ensures that the rich history and cultural heritage of this significant place is preserved for future generations.”

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