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Copyright © 2001 Darren Smith and licensors. All rights reserved |
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MARCH 2 |
| 1889 The Casa Grande ruins in south-central Arizona are authorized as the nation's first archeological preserve, protecting the Casa Grande and other nearby archeological sites. In 1918 it would be redesignated as a national monument. Casa Grande, or "Big House," is one of the largest and most mysterious prehistoric structures ever built in North America. |
| 1899 President William McKinley signs legislation creating Mount Rainier National Park in central Washington state. The nearly 400 square mile area of pristine forests and alpine scenery was the fifth national park designated by Congress. |
| 1909 The center of Washington's Olympic National Forest is proclaimed Mount Olympus National Monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in order to protect the summer range and breeding grounds of the Olympic elk. In 1933 it would be transferred from the Forest Service to the Park Service and in 1938 become Olympic National Park. |
| 1917 The Guilford Courthouse National Military Park is established in Greensboro, NC. The battle fought here in March of 1781, was the largest, most hotly-contested action of the Revolutionary War's climatic Southern Campaign. |
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1923 President Warren G. Harding establishes the Mound City Group National Monument on 57 acres along the Scioto River in Ohio, calling the prehistoric mounds "an object of great historic and scientific interest." In 1992 the monument would be redesignated and renamed the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. President Harding also establishes Hovenweep National Monument as a unit of the National Park System. Hovenweep includes a collection of unique prehistoric archeological sites located along the border between southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado. |
| 1927 The Kill Devil Hill Monument is established in North Carolina in commemoration of the aerial achievement of the two brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright. In 1933 a memorial of white granite would be added to the site that reads "In commemoration of the conquest of the air." In 1953 the monument would be redesignated and renamed to the Wright Brothers National Memorial. |
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1933 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument is established in Colorado to protect one of North America's most spectacular canyon areas. In 1999 it would be elevated to national park status. President Herbert Hoover establishes Morristown as the country's first national historical park. During the Revolutionary War it served as the quarters for the Continental Army during the winters of 1776-77 and 1779-80. |
| 1936 Richmond National Battlefield Park is established to commemorate a number of sites associated with Union campaigns between 1861 and 1865 in the Richmond area, including the battlefields at Gaines' Mill, Malvern Hill, and Cold Harbor. |
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