News
- July 28, 2010
Portsmouth Named "Preserve America Community"
First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama has signed and sent designation letters to 29 new Preserve America Communities, bringing the total nationwide to 843. Among the recipients is Portsmouth Mayor Tom Ferrini who worked with the Portsmouth Historical Society to submit the nomination. The City Council unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing the Preserve America Community initiative for Portsmouth at their meeting on June 21, 2010.
This is the second time the Portsmouth Historical Society has pursued and won national honors on behalf of Portsmouth and its historical preservation efforts. In 2008 the Society successfully nominated Portsmouth as a National Trust for Historic Preservation “Distinctive Destination.” The city is now entitled to use the Preserve America logo and designation in official, non-commercial communications.
In his letter supporting the nomination, Mayor Ferrini said, “Preserving America is a special trust in Portsmouth. Before this country was a nation, her citizens called upon the New Hampshire Seacoast and her statesmen, patriots and shipbuilders to command her regiments and build vessels to go in harm’s way in their name. In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt called upon the hospitality of New Hampshire’s Seacoast community and the security and protocol of the Navy and the Portsmouth Navy Yard to host a peace conference that would end the Russo Japanese War. We in Portsmouth all share the responsibility for preserving that which has made us who we are.”
“Preserve America Communities are committed to preserving their past by using their heritage to build a better future,” said Wayne Donaldson, chairman of the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP). “It is good news for the nation when 29 more communities demonstrate that they want to enjoy and share the economic, educational, environmental and sustainability benefits preservation provides while creating more vibrant and desirable places to live, work and visit.”
The newly designated communities are, by state:
Arkansas: Booneville, Calico Rock
California: Alameda, Napa, Pasadena, San Francisco, Ukiah
Florida: Tallahassee
Georgia: Hawkinsville, Winder
Iowa: Marion
Indiana: Fort Wayne
Missouri: Carthage
Nevada: Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe
New Hampshire: Portsmouth
New York: Binghamton
North Carolina: Asheboro, Hendersonville, Hillsborough, Transylvania County, Waxham
Pennsylvania: Durham Township, East Pikeland Township
South Carolina: Columbia
South Dakota: Sioux Falls
Texas: Frisco, George West
West Virginia: Elkins
Wyoming: Fremont County
The Preserve America Community Program recognizes a select group of communities that use their heritage resources to bring and share the myriad benefits of historic preservation to residents and visitors. The program began in 2003 and Preserve America Communities, great places to visit and explore, are now located in all 50 states and many overseas U.S. territories. Preserve America is administered by the ACHP with assistance from the U.S. Department of the Interior. For more information see www.preserveamerica.gov and www.achp.gov