The Interior Department designated 19 new national historic landmarks Monday, with many intended to highlight the history of marginalized communities.
Some of the new landmarks are already popular sites, such as the Blue Ridge Parkway, the scenic road that spans from Virginia to North Carolina and saw 16 million visits in 2023.
But others designate locations that might not yet see as many visitors, with the intention to highlight Black, LGBTQ and immigrant histories in this country.
These include the Charleston Cigar Factory in South Carolina, the site of a 1945 strike organized by Black women; the Boulder County Courthouse in Colorado, which was a major location in the fight for LGBTQ marriage equality; and Summit Camp in California, the largest and longest occupied campsite for Chinese laborers who worked on the Transcontinental Railroad.
