National Park History on the Web

America's National Park System: The Critical Documents and Mission 66 Visitor Centers are now available on the NPS website at http://www.cr.nps.gov/history. Critical Documents tells the origins of the national park idea during the Civil War with the need to preserve Yosemite Valley's scenic beauty in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. This feature explores those origins through the New Deal Years, World War II, and the present, with numerous historic documents defining the changing issues confronting the national parks and nation at large. Mission 66 Visitor Center tells the story of the movement, begun in 1954, to launch the NPS into the modern age. Mission 66 allowed the Park Service to repair and build roads, bridges and trails; construct new facilities ranging from campsites to administration buildings; conserve resources; and obtain land for future parks.