178) Port Chicago Naval Memorial National Monument

Visited: Friday, February 7, 2025

Finally.

Port Chicago is regularly among the least visited NPS sites, because it's on an active army base.  We first tried to visit in 2012, and have tried again every time we've both been in the San Francisco area since then.  Finally, after failing most recently last year, I took advantage of the ranger's offer to let us know when there were tours available.  And lo and behold, they had a two month period of openings - so we got a reservation, and planned a trip around visiting.

And - benefitted from it; the Port Chicago disaster was largely forgotten about for forty years, and the Port Chicago 50 almost completely forgotten about, until a professor found a flyer from the NAACP titled Remember Port Chicago.  He started piecing together the history, interviewing those of the 50 still alive and willing to talk.  But beyond the 50, there were 208 additional "sailors" (who weren't allowed to actually sail) who refused to work under unsafe conditions and without training, but who agreed to return to work on a promise of forgiveness - only to be court martialed.  In 2024, on the 80th anniversary of the disaster, both the 50 and the 208 were exonerated, and the names of the 208 released.  While none of them survived, a number of their descendants attended a ceremony at the memorial three days later.

If you can manage to visit, it's well worthwhile.

Oh, and in case you're curious - the 5 least visited NPS sites in 2018:

Aniakchak - 100 visitors

Mary McLeod Bethune - 109 visitors (but only because it was closed until December)

Rio Grande River - 330 visitors (but actually part of the Big Bend National Park, which has many, many more visitors)

Clara Barton - 425 (but closed much of the year)

Port Chicago - 653

177) William Howard Taft National Historic Site

Visited: Thursday, October 24, 2024

Taft's boyhood home is, as presidential sites go, reasonably interesting, though a lot of that comes from Taft's family, including his father who purchased the house and who had a notable political career of his own.  The house tour was brief but enjoyable, and the movie provided a nice overview of Taft's career and its interaction with Teddy Roosevelt's.  

176) Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park

Visited: Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Tomorrow, we'll be going to the Air Force Museum, which I haven't seen in many years.  While this NPS site is nice, I'm not sure it stands out as much as a tribute to the Wright Brothers as does the museum.  The site is modern and fairly inclusive - there are three visitors centers, two of which were open today (the main one in Dayton and the small one overlooking Huffman Prairie, where they did a lot of their work and where the statue to them is located).  And the main visitor center is the only place that really focused on Paul Laurence Dunbar.  Oh, _and_ there's a parachuting section as well.  But these different items tend to clutter the place, at least for me - it was a worthwhile stop, but I can't particularly imagine heading back.

175) Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument

Visited: Wednesday, October 23, 2024

The parallels to the Maggie Walker site in Richmond are clear; Young's field was the military, but they both aimed to improve the conditions for African Americans within their sphere.  Like with Walker, the site is headquartered in Young's house (Youngsholm); like with Walker, the place he had influence was local (Wilberforce University, just down the road).  And as with Walker, he met with famous African American leaders of the day.  The post-Civil War era was an interesting one; Young became the third African American to graduate from West Point with a commission, and the last to do so for around fifty years.  I was very pleased to see Klondike Gold Rush on the list of sites connected to the Buffalo Soldiers, since we heard about the baseball game there last Summer.

On the whole, Young had an interesting and noteworthy collection of accomplishments; it was very nice to see extensive work being done on the house to keep it accessible and in good condition for years to come.

174) Hopewell Culture National Historic Park

Visited: Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Somehow, in spite of growing up in Ohio, I'd never seen the Native American mounds in the South of the state.  Well, that was rectified today, visiting both the Mound City Group, easily the site with the most mounds and least disturbance, and Hopeton Earthworks, more the memory of mounds past than current mounds.  What I hadn't realized at all was that the Native Americans - about whom very little is known, honestly - are name after a local farmer from the 1800s who happened to have mounds on his property.  Or that WWI training was set up near the mounds - significant damage to the mounds was averted through the efforts of local archaeologists who convinced the army to change some plans.

Overall, this was a fascinating site; we might have stayed longer if not for the impending arrival of fourth graders.

173) Valley Forge National Historical Park

Visited: Sunday, September 15, 2024

Back when my brother lived in Pennsylvania, we passed by Valley Forge many times - but this was before we set a goal of visiting all of the NPS sites, so we never actually stopped in.  It's clearly a site that has a lot of support, and is nicely run.  But to be honest, we were both suffering from a degree of NPS War Fatigue by this point, and a desire to get home.  Worthwhile, and the museum is great, but - the story really isn't different from what I expected, and it's busier than I'd tend to prefer.

172) First State National Historical Park

Visited: Saturday, September 14, 2024

Often small NPS sites are particularly interesting to visit.  However, the relative recent addition of the First State NHP works against it; there just isn't that much to it.  To their credit, they have a movie - but the movie, and the exhibits, just don't have that much of interest to say.