Sunday, October 9, 1960: National Historic Landmarks

The U.S. government's National Park Service launches the program by recognizing 92 sites for their historical significance. Among the sites: the Erie Canal, representing the Advance of the Frontier, and Boston's Faneuil Hall (left), which, according to the official Statement of Significance, "served as a focal point of Colonial protest against British rule and later as a center of the abolition movement in Boston." The October 9 list was quickly expanded, first on December 12 and then again on January 20, 1961. The number of National Historic Landmarks (currently less than 2,500) is far fewer than the number of sites on the National Register of Historic Places (some 80,000).

* National Historic Landmarks website: @

* History: @

* Current list by state (as of June 2010): @

* National Register of Historic Places website: @

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