The Best of the NPS Industry Sites

18Sep19

Before I started planning the content for this blog, I would have said that the national park sites that focus on our nation’s Industry Age would not have been among my favorites.

But then I started jotting down things I liked about these sites and I was surprised – surprised at how much I really did enjoy my times in these parks.

A vast majority of the parks mentioned here are located in New England and highlight our nation’s growth in railroads and manufacturing. Still others are located in the Midwest.

Each is different in its own right, lumped together here because they reflect an important component of America’s industrial might.

Most Photogenic – This is a no doubter. I first became aware of the Saugus Ironworks National Historic Site (top photo) when a photo of the Boston area site won the best photo of the year in a National Park Service contest. Dating back to the 1600s, the scenery and the reconstructed buildings are what draw people to the park.

Best House – Another obvious choice. The Glenmont Estate in the Thomas Edison National Historical Park is a beautiful 29-room structure, both inside and out. From the stain-glass windows to the hand-painted ceilings, this is a magnificent building.

Best Artifacts – A second “best of” goes to the Edison National Historical Park. There are some 400,000 artifacts here but it’s not just the shear quantity of the historical items, it’s the quality with laboratory furnishings, equipment and products dating back to Edison’s days.

Most Potential – One day the Pullman National Monument (left photo) outside of Chicago is going to be a great national park site to visit. But when I was there last year the model factory town was being renovated and there were few buildings you could actually tour.

Hardest to Actually Visit – Another new entry into the National Park Service, Keweenaw National Historical Park commemorates the region’s mining history. It’s a ways up to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to see the affiliated sites in the park and even then most were closed on the weekend we visited.

Best Planes, Trains and Automobiles – The Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park honors the Wright Brothers’ legacy and includes a full-size model of the original Wright Flyer flown at Kitty Hawk. The Steamtown National Historic Site is situated on an active train station in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and is highlighted by train engines and cars throughout. Alas, I haven’t run across a national park site that commemorates our nation’s love of the automobile so I have to pass on this one.

Best Hike – I was adventurous at the Alleghany Portage Railroad National Historic Site (left photo) in western Pennsylvania. I took a trail down an old portage route. The trip down wasn’t too bad, but I was huffing and puffing by the time I made the return trip back to the main part of the park.

Most Unusual Visit – The Springfield Armory National Historic Site is located on a college campus in western Massachusetts. When I arrived everyone was evacuating – I couldn’t pull onto campus because of the traffic heading for home at 2 in the afternoon. Undaunted I made my way to the park and along the way I found out they had a major power outage and sent everyone home. Fortunately the actual park wasn’t affected.

Loneliest – Outside of the cattle, horses and sheep on the working farm at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (photo below), I was the only living creature at this historic iron making operation.

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