History
1947: National Council for Historic Sites and Buildings launches effort to form a National Trust in the United States.
1947: First national preservation conference held in Washington, D.C.
1949: President Harry Truman signs legislation creating National Trust.
1951: Woodlawn Plantation in Virginia becomes first Trust-administered historic site.
1952: Historic Preservation, forerunner of Preservation magazine, first published.
1960: First Crowninshield Award, recognizing lifetime achievement in preservation, presented to Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.
1966: Trust helps frame National Historic Preservation Act.
1969: First matching grants to support local projects awarded through Preservation Services Fund.
1970: Study Tours program launched.
1970: Trust files first amicus brief on behalf of Lexington, Ky., neighborhood association.
1971: First Trust field office opens in San Francisco.
1971: First Trust loans awarded to help fund rehabilitation projects.
1971: National Preservation Honor Awards established.
1973: First National Historic Preservation Week celebrated.
1978: Trust participates in Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York, in which Supreme Court upholds legality of preservation ordinances.
1979: Rural Heritage program launched.
1980: National Main Street Center established.
1982: In National Trust v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Trust files first lawsuit as plaintiff.
1983: Trust wages successful campaign to save historic West Front of U.S. Capitol.
1988: First list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places issued.
1988: Trust helps save Manassas Battlefield from intrusive commercial development.
1989: Heritage Tourism program created.
1989: Historic Hotels of America launched.
1994: Community Partners program established.
1994: Statewides Initiative launched to help strengthen statewide preservation organizations.
1994: Trust takes leadership role in successful campaign to halt development by Walt Disney Co. in Virginia’s historic northern Piedmont.
1997: Trust works with Montana Historical Society to save boomtowns Virginia City and Nevada City, Mont.
1998: Save America’s Treasures program launched by White House, with Trust as main private-sector partner.
1998: Preservation wins National Magazine Award for General Excellence.
1998: Federal funding for Trust ends.
