September 12, 2026

national park service

In 1816, Kentucky Shakers built a dwelling where newcomers learned about the community; the last surviving North Lot building is now getting a $1.5M restoration to reopen by 2029

In 1816, Kentucky Shakers built a dwelling where newcomers learned about the community; the last surviving North Lot building is now getting a $1.5M restoration to reopen by 2029

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Shaker believers in Mercer County began dismantling a frame house on December 16, 1816, to build a new dwelling about a mile northeast of their village centre. The move was deliberate. The Shaker community was growing, and they needed a proper place for new converts to live and learn about Shaker life. The new building…

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In 1927, Paramount bought a 2,700-acre California ranch and filmed more than 160 movies there; after wildfire destroyed almost everything in 2018, a $26 million rebuild is nearly complete

In 1927, Paramount bought a 2,700-acre California ranch and filmed more than 160 movies there; after wildfire destroyed almost everything in 2018, a $26 million rebuild is nearly complete

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Almost eight years after the fire, a $26 million rebuilding project is nearing completion. For nearly a century, Paramount Ranch in California’s Santa Monica Mountains was linked to Hollywood filmmaking. The 2,700-acre property was bought by Paramount Pictures in 1927 and used as an outdoor filming location. Between 1927 and 1943, the studio made more…

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In 2021, a landslide cut Denali National Park’s only road in two; five years later a $230 million, 475-foot bridge has been built directly above the still-moving slope

In 2021, a landslide cut Denali National Park’s only road in two; five years later a $230 million, 475-foot bridge has been built directly above the still-moving slope

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Pretty Rocks bridge (Image Credit: National Park Service) In August 2021, a massive landslide in Denali National Park and Preserve tore apart a section of the park’s only road, cutting off vehicle access to destinations deep inside the Alaska wilderness. Five years later, a new bridge now spans the unstable ground where the road once…

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In 1941, US Steel built a summer camp lodge at Indiana Dunes; after about 50 years closed, it has reopened and workers found an original time capsule hidden in its walls

In 1941, US Steel built a summer camp lodge at Indiana Dunes; after about 50 years closed, it has reopened and workers found an original time capsule hidden in its walls

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According to the report, in 1941, the U.S. Steel Company built the lodge for the children of its employees. The Good Fellow Youth Camp, which ran from 1941 to 1975, provided generations of young people with an opportunity to get outdoors in what would later become Indiana Dunes National Park. Generations of Northwest Indiana children…

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Cavers heard wind roaring from beneath a rubble-choked pit in New Mexico; after years of digging they broke through in 1986, and more than 145 miles of Lechuguilla Cave have since been mapped

Cavers heard wind roaring from beneath a rubble-choked pit in New Mexico; after years of digging they broke through in 1986, and more than 145 miles of Lechuguilla Cave have since been mapped

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Photo: A map of Lechuguilla Cave in July 2019Photo credit: NPS For decades, Lechuguilla Cave was just a footnote in New Mexico’s Guadalupe Mountains: a 90-foot entrance pit leading to 400 feet of dry, dead-end passages that had once been mined for bat guano. But in the 1950s, cavers began noticing something strange: wind roaring…

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In 1972, Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson gave the Texas White House and about 600 acres to the US but kept lifetime rights; she continued living there until 2007

In 1972, Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson gave the Texas White House and about 600 acres to the US but kept lifetime rights; she continued living there until 2007

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The property was more than a place connected to Johnson’s presidency. It was also a home for the Johnson family. (LBJ library photo) In 1972, former US President Lyndon B Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird Johnson, gave their ranch house and about 600 acres of land to the National Park Service for use as…

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In 1862, heirs sold Colorado’s Baca land for 30 cents an acre; 140 years later its 97,000-acre ranch sold for $31.28 million and helped create a national park nearly four times the monument’s original size

In 1862, heirs sold Colorado’s Baca land for 30 cents an acre; 140 years later its 97,000-acre ranch sold for $31.28 million and helped create a national park nearly four times the monument’s original size

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Photo: Baca Ranch House (clicked in 1920)Photo credit: Denver Public Library Collection via NPS A piece of land can begin as a forgotten investment and end as part of a national treasure. That is the remarkable story of Colorado’s Baca Ranch, a vast property at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. In 1862,…

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In 1908, a Boston woman donated 140 acres around Maine's Beehive and Bowl to stop future development; six years later 5,000 acres had been protected for what became Acadia

In 1908, a Boston woman donated 140 acres around Maine’s Beehive and Bowl to stop future development; six years later 5,000 acres had been protected for what became Acadia

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Acadia National Park was the first national park created from private lands gifted to the public through the efforts of conservation-minded citizens. Many of the activities surrounding the civic groups that created the park excluded women and people of colour, as per the park’s website. However, there was one woman, a longtime resident Eliza Homans,…

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In 2016, the Burt's Bees co-founder gave the US 87,500 acres and backed it with $40 million; 10 years later the Maine wilderness is a national monument

In 2016, the Burt’s Bees co-founder gave the US 87,500 acres and backed it with $40 million; 10 years later the Maine wilderness is a national monument

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Roxanne Quimby has had a life for the books. The woman who has held multiple roles including that of an artist, homesteader, mother, storyteller, philanthropist and entrepreneur is the face behind what is possibly the world’s best-known lip balm brand. One that floods every woman’s Pinterest board and definitely her cart. While Quimby may be…

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In 1980, Miles Boekeloo sold his 365-acre Michigan wilderness retreat to the National Park Service; the deal let his family keep its cabin and 5 acres for another 25 years

In 1980, Miles Boekeloo sold his 365-acre Michigan wilderness retreat to the National Park Service; the deal let his family keep its cabin and 5 acres for another 25 years

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Boekelodge (Image Credit: National Park Service) For decades, Miles Boekeloo and his family used a secluded property along Michigan’s Lake Michigan shoreline as a private wilderness retreat. In 1980, Boekeloo sold the entire 365.48-acre property to the National Park Service, and the historic property, now known as Boekelodge, became part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National…

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