National Park Service: The American Presidents

With the Presidential inauguration just a couple weeks away, it’s a good time to think about our former Presidents and the place they occupy in history.  Putting politics aside, that’s just what the National Park Service has done – put Presidential PLACES on display – with the new Discover Our Shared Heritage on-line travel itinerary site.

The American Presidents itinerary explores the lives, contributions and historical sites of all 43 presidents.  (President-elect Obama is not yet on the list.)  Among the sites listed are birthplaces, home and memorials.  There’s also a general presidential itinerary that includes the White House, Mount Rushmore, and other general sites.

The list includes over 70 sites spanning the country, all listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and about half part of the National Park System.

Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find:

• Description and significance of the site
• Information and maps on how to visit
• Photographs, old and new
• Accompany links to essays by presidential historians
• A “Learn More” section that will steer you to a bibliography and additional travel sites to help you plan a visit to any of the historic locations

I checked out a few places that have been on my to-visit list for awhile now, as well as added a few:  Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello (in photo above), Adams National Historic Park, Eisenhower National Historic Site, and the First Ladies National Historic Site.

How about you?  Any place on the list inspire you to visit?

Photo credit:  wikimedia

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