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Cover Story b \ MICLI A 1:1. \OI AN 3^ational^ Monumeflts Celebrating a century of treasured landmarks You find them in both major metropolitan areas and some of the most remote corners of the country. They protect canyons and craters, redwood forests and vast deserts. They commemorate natural disasters and mankind's accomplishments. They're national monuments, diverse parcels of land all across the country that preserve both pristine lands and the ruins of ancient civilizations. From the heights of Mount St. Helens in Wash ington state to the underwater splendor of Buck Island Reef in the Virgin Islands, from Effigy Mounds in rural Allamakee County, lowa, where prehistoric Amer- j ican Indians built ceremonial earthen mounds in the shape of bears and birds, to Pompeys Pillar near Billings, Mont., where explorer William Clark carved his name in the sandstone mesa in 1806, these sanctuaries represent a wealth of American treasures. The precedent for such land acquisi tion came with the Antiquities Act of 1906, when Congress entrusted the presi dent with discretionary power “to declare by public proclamation historic land marks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest” as national monuments. President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid conservationist, lost no time in exercising his new authority. On Sept. 24, 1906, he set aside the majestic monolith Devils Tower in Crook County, Wyo., as the nation’s first national monument. v , t^ _ * •m m ■■■ H 9 HUB Devils Tower was the first national monument, designated by President Theodore Roosevelt on Sept. 24, 1906. Antiquities Act centennial Now as the nation celebrates 100 years of the Antiquities Act, scores of national monuments are found in 28 states and encompass some 240,000 square miles, roughly the size of the states of Colo rado and Montana. They range in size from African Burial Ground National Monument, a 15,000-square-foot site in New York City where enslaved and free Africans were interred between the 1690 s and 17905, to the vast 140,000-square-mile Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument, the newest and larg est marine sanctuary in the world. M■, ■ jp; #- . A 4 . lw» g- ~~ k Among the most popular national monu ments is the Statue of Liberty, where more than 5 million visitors arrive annually by ferry to meet the Lady of the Harbor. A gift from France dedicated in 1886, the statue / was designated a national monument by President Coolidge in 1924. | With its urban setting, Lady Liberty f couldn't be more antithetical to Scotts Bluff National Monument, situated on a lonely prairie in western Nebraska, where a tower ing 800-foot buttress known to the Plains Indians as Ma-a-pa-te, or “hill that is hard to go around,” dominates the horizon. More than 150 years ago, it was a landmark to westward bound travelers on the Oregon Trail. Today, visitors to the 3,000-acre spread are rewarded ► with the same spectacular views of the IrlwcilPEflfll Great Plains as witnessed generations ago, as well as a visitor's center that explores American Indian and pioneer life and the geology of the land. St. Augustine, Fla., long has billed itself as "the oldest city in America.” The city’s most con spicuous testament to that claim is Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, a stone fortress completed in 1695 by the Spanish empire. A favorite of tourists, the fortification draws more than a million visitors a year, while only 14 miles south of St. Augustine stands a lesser-known rem nant of Spanish dominion. The centerpiece of Fort Matanzas National Monument, accessible by a free ferry, was built between 1740 and 1742 and marks Spain's last effort to ward off Britain’s advances from the north. Built as a Spanish fortress, Castillo de San Marcos today is a national monument in St. Augustine, Fla. »sss- - ■-. .. - _■ ;_ - page 4 American Profile