List of threatened historic sites in the United States
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This article provides a List of threatened historic sites in the United States. A site is deemed historic if it has been listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
or an official State or Local landmark list. While there are many historic places in the U.S. that are not listed in an official government listing of landmarks, the purpose of this article is to report threats only to government-listed landmarks. A site is deemed threatened for this article if there is verifiable information that it is threatened. Documentation may include: *credible reports in publications, including news articles *listing on various watch organizations' lists


United States sites which are both historic and threatened

* Fort Jackson and
Fort St. Philip Fort St. Philip is a historic masonry fort located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, about upriver from its mouth in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, just opposite Fort Jackson on the other side of the river. It formerly served a ...
in
Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana Plaquemines Parish (; French language, French: ''Paroisse de Plaquemine'', Louisiana French: ''Paroisse des Plaquemines'', es, Parroquia de Caquis) is a Parish (subnational entity), parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a populat ...
were heavily damaged in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. They are forts that were battlegrounds in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
and are
National Historic Landmarks A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
. Both are listed by the Civil War Preservation Trust in 2006 as among the Top 10 Endangered Civil War Battlefields. *
Great Falls Portage The Great Falls Portage is the route taken by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805 to portage around the Great Falls (Missouri River), Great Falls of the Missouri River during the outbound portion of the expedition. The portage took 31 days. ...
, a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
site in Montana, is threatened by an electric power generating station. *The upper post area of
Fort Snelling Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...
, a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota, is listed with a threat level of "emergency" by the National Historic Landmarks Program and was named as one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. While the original fort buildings dating back to the 1820s have been reconstructed and are operated as a historic site by the
Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehoo ...
, newer buildings built after the 1880s are deteriorating rapidly. *The SS ''United States'', a passenger liner built in 1952 for the
United States Lines United States Lines was the trade name of an organization of the United States Shipping Board (USSB), Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) created to operate German liners seized by the United States in 1917. The ships were owned by the USSB and all ...
. She captured the
Blue Riband The Blue Riband () is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest average speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. T ...
on her maiden voyage in 1952—with the fastest eastbound and westbound transatlantic crossings record of three days, twelve hours, and twelve minutes. To this day she holds both the fastest westbound and eastbound transit records. The ship's fate is unknown and has been in disregard for many years since her retirement in 1969. * Barton Academy, a
Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
school building in
Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
. It was built 1836–39 to the designs of architects
James H. Dakin James Harrison Dakin (August 24, 1806 – May 13, 1852), American architect . Best known for his Neo-Gothic style. Best known as Architect of the Old Louisiana State Capitol, Old Bank of Louisville, and other public buildings. Early life Dakin w ...
, Charles B. Dakin, and
James Gallier James Gallier (24 July 1798– 3 October 1866) was a prominent nineteenth-century Ireland, Irish-born American architect, most famed for his buildings in New Orleans. Gallier Hall, which he designed and once served as New Orleans City Hall, is ...
. First listed on the Alabama Historical Commission's "Places in Peril" in 2005 due to the threat of
demolition by neglect Demolition by neglect refers to the practice of allowing a building to deteriorate to the point that demolition becomes necessary or restoration becomes unreasonable. The practice has been used by property owners as a means of sidestepping historic ...
, it was re-listed in 2009. *The Beckley Courthouse Square Historic District, listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in
Beckley, West Virginia Beckley is a city in and the county seat of Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. It was founded on April 4, 1838. This city is the home of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology or West Virginia University, Beckley Campus. ...
, was added to the list of most endangered historical resources in West Virginia by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV). The 2015 nomination resulted from a declaration by the State Historic Preservation Office that the district could be removed from the national register as the result of the inappropriate alteration of contributing structures. The PAWV declared in its assessment that the threat was the result of the nonfeasance of the city landmarks commission.


Organizations which note threatened status

*
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
of the United States monitors the status of
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
sites, many of which are privately owned. *
World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...
covers a top 100 list worldwide, several of which in the United States. For example, following Hurricane Katrina, it lists New Orleans as a whole, which includes many NRHP sites. Of the NRHPs in New Orleans, some in low-lying areas were damaged by Katrina and remain threatened while others in the
French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Squ ...
and elsewhere were not and are not. *
Civil War Preservation Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization (501(c)#501(c)(3), 501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 ...
*The
Alabama Historical Commission The Alabama Historical Commission is the historic preservation agency for the U.S. state of Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission of safeguarding Alabama’s historic buildings and sites. It cons ...
names Alabama's top 10 threatened historic sites in their yearly "Places in Peril" listing. *The
Northwest Georgia Threatened Historic Sites Project The Northwest Georgia Threatened Historic Sites project was established in 2005 as part of Kennesaw State University's Public History Program. The project was developed to promote historic preservation by identifying, documenting, and publicizing t ...
identified 19 threatened historic sites in Georgia, some of which may be NRHPs. *
National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...
lists America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. *Preservation Maryland identifies a top 10 Endangered Maryland Sites each year. 2009 listings ar
here
and include the skipjack ''Flora A. Price''.


See also

* America's Most Endangered Places


References

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Threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...