The Most Visited National Historic Sites in the US

By Hristina Byrnes Published Jul 20, 7:00AM EDT

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The Most Visited National Historic Sites in the US — © wweagle / E+ via Getty Images

Most recreational activities last year took place outside due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and social distancing rules. Millions of people ventured out of the city and into national parks and recreation areas, but many also visited historic places.

Many of those places are classified as national historic sites and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They are cared for by the National Park Service with the aim of protecting the country’s historic and archeological sites.

As of 2020, there were 75 national historic sites managed by the NPS. Depending on when they were officially designated as NHSs, these places are either kept as it or restored to their appearance during the period of their historical significance. These sites range from places dating back to prehistoric Indian civilizations to places from recent American history.

In addition to national historic sites, people love to visit national parks. Exploring the wilderness, hiking through mountains, and sleeping under the stars are just some of the nature experiences these parks have to offer, often free of charge. And these are the national parks that had the most visitors in 2020.

Click here to see the most visited historic sites in the U.S.

To identify the most popular national historic sites in the U.S., 24/7 Tempo reviewed recreational visits published in the National Park Service’s annual visitation report for 2020, the last year for which data is available. The NPS aggregates visitation data for various government land designations and visitation purposes. Only national historic sites were considered in our analysis. There are a total of 75 NHSs under the wing of the NPS. We only included the top 19, which are those that received more than 1% of all recreation visits in 2020.

19. Carl Sandburg Home
> Recreation visit in 2020: 42,672
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.03%
> Location: North Carolina

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18. Andrew Johnson
> Recreation visit in 2020: 46,092
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.12%
> Location: Tennessee

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17. Ford’s Theatre
> Recreation visit in 2020: 56,058
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.36%
> Location: District of Columbia

16. Herbert Hoover
> Recreation visit in 2020: 56,270
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.36%
> Location: Iowa

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15. Andersonville
> Recreation visit in 2020: 63,799
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.54%
> Location: Georgia

14. Manzanar
> Recreation visit in 2020: 65,289
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.58%
> Location: California

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13. Fort Smith
> Recreation visit in 2020: 67,574
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.63%
> Location: Arkansas

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12. Little Rock Central High School
> Recreation visit in 2020: 68,497
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 1.66%
> Location: Arkansas

11. Boston African American
> Recreation visit in 2020: 89,616
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 2.17%
> Location: Massachusetts

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10. Ninety Six
> Recreation visit in 2020: 95,418
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 2.31%
> Location: South Carolina

9. Minuteman Missile
> Recreation visit in 2020: 98,908
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 2.39%
> Location: South Dakota

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8. Sagamore Hill
> Recreation visit in 2020: 105,289
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 2.55%
> Location: New York

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7. Salem Maritime
> Recreation visit in 2020: 125,554
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 3.04%
> Location: Massachusetts

6. Allegheny Portage Railroad
> Recreation visit in 2020: 136,029
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 3.29%
> Location: Pennsylvania

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5. Fort Raleigh
> Recreation visit in 2020: 153,519
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 3.71%
> Location: North Carolina

4. Vanderbilt Mansion
> Recreation visit in 2020: 217,231
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 5.26%
> Location: New York

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3. San Juan
> Recreation visit in 2020: 357,100
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 8.64%
> Location: Puerto Rico

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2. Fort Vancouver
> Recreation visit in 2020: 670,111
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 16.21%
> Location: Oregon and Washington

1. Fort Point
> Recreation visit in 2020: 884,538
> Share of all NHS recreation visits in 2020: 21.40%
> Location: California

About the Author Hristina Byrnes →

Hristina Byrnes is the editor of 247Tempo.com, where she handles the site's assignments and editing. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, which she earned in 2012, and she specializes in translating complex health data research into engaging, accessible stories for a general audience.

When she's not poring over the latest data sets or brainstorming story ideas, you can find Hristina watching tennis, playing tennis with her son, or trying to get her daughter into tennis.