The National Trust for Historic Preservation has unveiled its annual list of America's most endangered historic places for 2026, featuring 11 sites that highlight the nation's ongoing struggle for equality. Among the locations are the Stonewall National Monument, the President's House Site, and the Women's Rights National Historic Park, all chosen to commemorate America's 250th anniversary with the theme that all people are created equal.
Theme of Equality for the 250th Anniversary
Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the nonprofit organization, explained that the 2026 list focuses on the foundational principle of equality. "We wanted to think about those ideas, especially this notion that all human beings are created equal and find places, sometimes unsung places ... that not all Americans routinely think about," Quillen told the Associated Press. The sites span the country from New York and California to Alabama, Texas, Michigan, and the Four Corners region of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.
Threats from Trump Administration Actions
At least three sites have been endangered by Trump administration actions: Stonewall, the El Corazon church in Texas, and Philadelphia's President's House. "We want to save these places," Quillen said, "not just because the bricks and mortar is important but because the stories these places hold are important." For the first time since the list debuted in 1988, each site will receive a one-time $25,000 grant to help highlight their connections to equality and address threats.
The 11 Endangered Sites
- Stonewall National Monument, New York, New York: The first and only U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ history saw the rainbow Pride flag removed earlier this year under Trump administration guidance, but it was restored after a lawsuit. The administration also excised references to transgender people from the monument's website and materials.
- Ben Moore Hotel, Montgomery, Alabama: A refuge for Black individuals during segregation, the hotel housed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy. It now suffers from prolonged vacancy and structural deterioration, though The Conservation Fund committed to help preserve it.
- Tule Lake Segregation Center, Modoc County, California: Originally a war relocation center, it became a segregation center for Japanese Americans deemed disloyal. Only 37 of 1,100 acres are protected, with most at risk from a proposed construction project.
- Angel Island Immigration Station, Tiburon Island, California: The West Coast's largest immigration port from 1910 to 1940 processed hundreds of thousands of Asian and Pacific immigrants. It faces threats from physical, environmental, political, and economic factors.
- Swansea Friends Meeting House, Somerset, Massachusetts: Built in 1701 as a refuge for Quakers fleeing religious persecution, it is the oldest surviving Quaker meeting house in the state but has been closed for years and needs significant rehabilitation.
- Detroit Association of Women's Clubs, Detroit, Michigan: Founded in 1921, it was one of the first Black organizations in Detroit to own its headquarters. The building has been closed since 2024 after water pipe damage.
- Greater Chaco Cultural Landscape, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Utah: An ancestral homeland for Pueblo and Hopi people for over a millennium, it is threatened by federal land policy changes that could allow oil and gas development.
- Women's Rights National Historical Park, Seneca Falls, New York: Telling the story of the first Women's Rights Convention in 1848, it faces a deferred maintenance backlog of over $10 million.
- The President's House Site, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Trump administration removed exhibits on nine enslaved people who lived there under George Washington, as part of a broader effort to remove "disparaging" information. The issue is in litigation.
- Hanging Rock Revolutionary War Battlefield, Heath Springs, South Carolina: A key Patriot victory in the Revolutionary War, only portions of the core battlefield are protected, with development pressure increasing.
- El Corazon Sagrado de la Iglesia de Jesus, Ruidosa, Texas: A century-old adobe church serving Mexican and Mexican American communities along the Rio Grande, vacant since the 1950s, is threatened by proposed border wall construction within a few hundred yards.
These sites collectively illustrate struggles for equality across American history, from LGBTQ+ rights and racial justice to women's rights and indigenous sovereignty. The National Trust aims to preserve not just the physical structures but the stories they hold.
