by Tom Bastek
Last updated: 9:00 PM ET, Mon January 5, 2015
Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Everyone knows the big ones: the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, Mount St. Helens and White Sands, New Mexico, but there are 110 national monuments in the United States that range from President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers Home to the very first national park as so declared by Teddy Roosevelt: Devil's Tower. And although most of you would recognize Devil's Tower from the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, some of the following sites are a little less known but certainly still worth the trip.
Castle Clinton - New York City, New York
Before the establishment of Ellis Island in New York, Castle Clinton, located in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan, was America's very first immigration station. From 1850 - 1890 more than eight million people made their way to the U.S. from other countries. Originally built as a fortress to protect against the British in 1812, immigrants such as Harry Houdini and Typhoid Mary came through the doors of the castle. Since then, the castle has been a beer garden, exhibition hall, theater, and public aquarium. Today it is a museum and the primary pushing off point for visitors to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument - Hawaii, Alaska, and California
This is a national monument that actually encompasses nine different locations across three different states, so making it to them all may be a bit tasking.
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii played a large role in WWII and the USS Arizona Memorial and Visitor Center is probably the most well-known site there. In Hawaii there is also the USS Utah Memorial, the USS Oklahoma Memorial, the military bungalows on Ford Island as well as Mooring Quays F6, F7, and F8, which formed part of Battleship Row.
In Alaska there is the Attu Island battlefield, the Kiska Island Japanese occupation site and the crash site of a B-24D bomber on Atka Island.
In California there is the Tule Lake Unit, which is a monument marking the location of one of ten concentration camps for Japanese Americans during WWII. Although the Pearl Harbor locations are open year round, the Tule Lake Unit is open only from Memorial Day to Labor Day and the Alaskan park is located on Amaknak Island an 800 mile westward haul from Anchorage and is probably best reached by cruise ship. So put that one on your Alaskan cruise to-do list.
Booker T. Washington National Monument - Rocky Mount, Virginia
Booker T. Washington was born into slavery in 1856 and the monument is located on the tobacco farm on which he was born and raised. After WWII, congress authorized a commemorative coin with Booker T. Washington on it that partially funded the historic site. It was the first coin to feature an African-American. The park offers a quarter mile hike past and through reconstructions of buildings similar to what you would find on a plantation in the 1800s.
Dinosaur National Monument - Utah / Colorado Border
For the dinosaur-loving group, that is most kids under the age of 13 and the occasional adult (like me), this is the best place in the country to see authentic dinosaur fossils. Originaly discovered in 1909 and made an 80 acre national monument in 1915, it was expanded to 200,000 acres in 1938. Don't miss the petroglyphs in Dinosaur National Monument, a lesser known, but incredible spectacle in the same area.
Look closely, though; many of the sites for the petroglyphs are not marked on maps due to vandalism. The monument is open year round however some roads due close in the winter due to weather.
Fort Sumter - Charleston, South Carolina
In 1861, the first shots of the Civil War were fired at the Union Fort Sumter, which in turn surrendered 34 hours later, and the rest was history. One of the best parts of visiting the fort is that it has to be reached by 30-minute ferry ride and the weather in Charleston is very pleasant on the water.
Do your research ahead of time as you will only get about an hour and one half on the island at the fort and there is a lot to see while you are there. The park guides are very knowledgeable and in addition to poking around yourself, make time to take a docent-led tour. If you catch your ferry at Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum, you can double up on the history and tour some actual retired naval vessels.
There you have five of the 110 national monuments to help get you on your way to planning your next road trip or destination vacation. Taking in a little bit of history and scenery all at the same time. What is your favorite national monument? Tell me in the comments below.
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