The Places That Make Us

I ran my fingers across the red brick wall, filled with emotions. I was standing in the very place where a group of determined men and women gathered to sign the Declaration of Sentiments and demand women’s right to vote. My right to vote.

It was November 2018, and I visited the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York, the site of the Women’s Rights Convention that took place 170 years before my arrival. Though much of the chapel was damaged over time, bricks and plaster of the original building remained — and they had a story to tell. I grew up just 80 miles from this site, yet I’d never visited. Standing there, I was struck by how easy it had been for me to overlook a place so pivotal to our history. I read every plaque, pin and exhibit, one asking the very simple but powerful question, “What will it be like when men and women are truly equal?” I vowed to never miss a chance to cast my ballot.

Women’s Rights National Historical Park is one of 433 national park sites Americans have pledged to protect and safeguard in perpetuity. That moment in the Chapel reminded me that parks are a promise made to us generations before, and one we make to those who will come generations after us. Each park has important lessons to teach us — the resilience of the human spirit at the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, the gift of ingenuity at Thomas Edison National Historical Park and the power of perseverance at Valley Forge National Historical Park.

Collectively, these sites weave together the fabric of the Unites States of America, whose 250th anniversary we commemorate in 2026. It’s a time for us to not only celebrate our nation’s founding, but also to reflect honestly on our journey to get here — the battles we’ve fought, the rights we’ve won and the beauty we’ve preserved. Just as importantly, it’s a time for us to think about who we aspire to be, and what stories we want future generations to inherit.

This is why national parks are so essential in celebrating this hallmark anniversary. They are places where we can immerse ourselves in our country’s history as much as we immerse ourselves in its natural beauty. Even as I write this, I recall so vividly my visit to Seneca Falls that day. I went with the intention of stamping my park passport and securing my “I would have been a suffragist” T-shirt. More meaningfully, though, I left with a profound feeling of the important work that took place at that very site, and how close we came to losing the Chapel to disrepair.

American flags, with A250 caption

Founded in 1776, the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary in 2026 — a year known as the semiquincentennial. 

© Waynerd | Dreamstime.com

These places endure only because each generation chooses to preserve them. Right now, we’re that generation. And right now, our parks need us more than ever.

Throughout 2026, NPCA will commemorate everything that makes our national parks extraordinary — the landscapes, the wildlife and the stories that make us who we are. What would this country be without them? Who would we be without them?

Just as importantly, it’s a time for us to think about who we aspire to be, and what stories we want future generations to inherit.

There are so many stories that we have yet to uncover, so many people and places that we should honor. What could our parks be in the next 250 years? That’s up to us all.

As we embark on this yearlong commemoration of the United States of America, let’s look to our national parks not only as places to visit but as a testament to how far we’ve come. And let’s renew our promise to stay vigilant in protecting them so people commemorating America’s Tricentennial in another 50 years have the opportunity to do the same.