Dr. Norm Moline

The National Park Service in Illinois: Places to Experience Our Cultural History

The National Park Service (NPS) is well known for protecting spectacular features and nationally important historic sites. Yet, the NPS also strives to preserve sites that celebrate the cultural history of regional and local places such as our state. It strives to make "history come alive" in many places. 

In Illinois, these sites include three National Heritage Areas, 88 National Historic Landmarks, 26 National Underground Railroad sites, and nearly 2,000 locations on the National Register of Historic Places, with some in every county. This presentation will highlight a few key sites across the state which, even if far from the host organization, need to be noted as important parts of our cultural history. It then will focus on National Register sites near the host organization, making each talk unique. Dr. Moline hopes listeners can recognize and appreciate the cultural history in our landscape and then visit some significant places. He presents this program as a tribute to the NPS and to the citizens who worked diligently to gain NPS recognition for these historic landmarks and national register sites.

After the identification of some sites across the state, questions will be invited. Then, when attention turns to the local area, questions again will be welcomed; attendees who have visited any of these sites will be invited to share additional information or personal experiences about those places.

This presentation aligns with the Illinois America 250 Commission's theme, the “Power of Place,” that helps us explore how our natural and built environments have shaped the settlement, migration, and the development of our state. The Illinois America 250 Commission's goals are to uplift local stories, places, and programs; build pride; and showcase how Illinois brings the ideals of the Declaration of Independence to life.

Audience Recommendations

This presentation is geared towards high school and adults. Norm recommends making efforts to invite high school and community college students, as well as local American history teachers.

Program Logistics

This program is 60 minutes long, including Q&A. The host should provide a laptop that will play a flash drive , a projector, a microphone, and, if available, a presentation remote. Any audio or video recording must be discussed with and approved in writing by Dr. Norm Moline prior to the presentation.