List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington (state)
This is a complete List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington. The United StatesNational Historic Landmark program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, and similar resources nationwide according to a list of criteria of national significance.[1] The state of Washington is home to 24 of these landmarks, extensively highlighting the state's maritime heritage (with eight individual boats) and contributions to the national park movement (including three sites within Mount Rainier National Park, which is also listed), while recognizing a range of other aspects of its historic legacy.
The table below lists the 24 Washington sites (including one that spans the Washington-Oregon state line) that are currently designated as National Historic Landmarks, along with descriptions and other details.
Both of these camps were set up in 1859 as response to the hostilities of the Pig War. The camps were occupied for 12 years, until the Treaty of Washington was signed, negotiated by Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany. The British abandoned their camp in November 1872, while the American camp was disbanded in July 1874.[4]
The B-Reactor at Hanford Site, Washington, was the first large scale plutonium production reactor ever built. The project was commissioned under the Manhattan Project, during World War II, to develop the first nuclear weapons.
Established in 1833, Fort Nisqually was the first European trading post on Puget Sound.[8] Both of these buildings have been moved to Point Defiance Park, and a replica of the original Fort Nisqually as a living museum.
Built in 1904, Lightship No. 83 is the oldest surviving American lightvessel. Now moored at Northwest Seaport at Lake Union Park and re-named SWIFTSURE after the closest former lightship station to Seattle, it has been undergoing a comprehensive rehabilitation since 2008.[9]
The three contributing buildings are the Service Station, the Community Building, and the third (former) Administration Building,[10][11] and are examples of National Park Service Rustic architecture.
Despite being the fact that human remains at the site are the oldest that have been found in Washington, and at the time of excavation, the oldest set of remains found in North America,[12] the site was submerged under water after the closing of the Lower Monumental Lock and Dam.[13]
The National Park Service's master planning process at this national park in the 1920s marked a significant evolution in the professional management of scenic and recreational lands. The park retains most of the facilities that grew out of this pioneer plan.
The Pioneer Building is a Richardsonian Romanesque building built in 1892. The Pergola was formerly a cable car stop built in 1909,[15] and the Seattle Totem Pole, which was originally carved around 1790, was stolen from a Tlingit village, and presented to the city of Seattle by its Chamber of Commerce in 1899.[16]
This company town was founded in 1853, and ran the longest running timber mill in the US, which just closed in 1995. Seattle architect Charles Bebb designed many of the town's buildings.[17]
This shipyard was the primary repair destination for damaged battleships during World War II. Of the eight ships bombed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, five were repaired here.
Originally built in 1906 to power interurban rail transport between Seattle and Tacoma, the building is now a museum, and houses the only functioning Curtis Vertical Steam Turbogenerator in existence.
From 1929 to 1981, the Preston worked clearing rivers of debris, to make them passable to ship traffic. Today the boat is in permanent dry dock, and houses a museum.
Log building complex of four individual buildings in Mount Rainier National Park that is architecturally significant on its own.
Historic areas in the United States National Park System
National Historic Sites, National Historic Parks, National Memorials, and certain other areas listed in the National Park system are more highly protected than other historic sites, and are often not also named National Historic Landmarks. There are five of these in Washington (six are listed, but San Juan National Historic Park is already listed here as "American and English Camps"), which the National Park Service lists together with the National Historic Landmarks in the state.[19]
The only National Historic Reserve, this park consists of a mixture of public and private lands, including the Central Whidbey Island Historic District, which is listed on the National Register.
This site consists of the location of Fort Vancouver in Washington, and the house of John McLoughlin in Oregon City, Oregon. All the buildings at the fort burned in 1866, but were all rebuilt in their original places in 1966.
Of the 38 sites in this park that commemorates the history of the Nez Perce people, two are in Washington: the Burial Site of Chief Joseph the Younger and Nez Perce Campsites at Nespelem.
This was the site of a mission founded by Oregon Trail emigrants. In 1847, members of the Cayuse tribe killed thirteen of the settlers, prompting the US to annex the land as the Oregon Territory, and begin the Cayuse War.
Former NHL in Washington
In addition, there is one current National Historic Landmark that was once in Washington but was relocated to another state.
^Numbers represent an alphabetical ordering by significant words. Various colorings, defined here, differentiate National Historic Landmarks and historic districts from other NRHP buildings, structures, sites or objects.
^The eight-digit number below each date is the number assigned to each location in the National Register Information System database, which can be viewed by clicking the number.
^These are listed on p.116 of "National Historic Landmarks Survey: List of National Historic Landmarks by State", covering the six directly administered areas.
