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Illinois

Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument

February 5, 2025 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument

Illinois

Managed by National Park Service

Established 2024

1.57 acres

Website: nps.gov/spra

Overview

In 1908, African Americans made up only 5.5% of Springfield’s population of 47,000. However, racial tensions ran high across the nation, and, on August 14, a mob formed outside the jail where two African-American men were accused of separate incidents of sexual assault and murder. When the crowd found out the prisoners had been secretly moved 60 miles away, a full riot broke out. They destroyed buildings, looted, and lynched two prominent members of the African-American community—a barber named Scott Burton and the wealthy William Donnegan. By the time the National Guard arrived to restore order, seven people were dead and the mob had already burned the African-American neighborhood known as the “Badlands” to the ground. Eventually, the trials of the 80 riot suspects at the Old Court House led to only one conviction for petty larceny. While the rape suspect, George Richardson, was released when his accuser admitted fabricating the story, Joe James was convicted of murder and executed on October 23, 1908 despite being legally exempt from the death penalty as a minor. These events catalyzed the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) a few months later in New York City.

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments. It is now available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Walking tour, Acts of Intolerance sculpture, mural, Old Court House, Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Mechanicsburg Cemetery

Must-Do Activity

Before the National Monument was designated in 2024, the city of Springfield had already created a walking tour highlighting the events of the 1908 race riot marked by seven silver pillars. After starting at the former site of the jail, the tour moves to where Loper’s Restaurant once stood; its white owner having assisted in moving the prisoners, his restaurant and his car were destroyed. During the frenzy, a restaurant patron named Louis Johnson was shot and killed. There are five other stops detailing the events chronologically, but they do not include the mural inside HSHS St. John’s Hospital Women & Children’s Clinic, which is next to the officially designated National Monument boundaries where the foundations of five homes burned in the “Badlands” remain fenced off. Upon our visit less than three months after its creation, the National Park Service visitor center for Lincoln Home National Historic Site did not have any information on the new National Monument, but they already had a passport stamp.

Best Trail

When followed in chronological order, the walking tour bounces back and forth across the city, so you will get your steps in that day. In the summer, guided tours are offered from the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau. Alternatively, you can drive the route and read the descriptions in the publication available online and from the visitors bureau.

Photographic Opportunity

After the burning of the “Badlands” neighborhood, two chimneys were about the only structures left standing. The sculptor Preston Jackson utilized this imagery in his work Acts of Intolerance that depicts scenes of the race riot in bas relief. Dedicated in 2009, it stands across the street from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Union Square Park.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/spra/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

There is no free parking in downtown Springfield, so you can use a parking meter or the NPS pay lot at Lincoln Home National Historic Site.

Camping

Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site is 20 miles northwest of Springfield and its campground has running water. Further north, Starved Rock State Park is a beautiful spot for camping, and it also offers a historic lodge.

Related Sites

New Philadelphia National Historic Site (Illinois)

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument (Mississippi-Illinois)

Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument (Mississippi)

Explore More – Damage from the race riot to black businesses was estimated at $100,000 in 1908, equivalent to how many millions today?

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

Utah

Rainbow Bridge National Monument

January 29, 2025 Raven About The Parks 5 Comments

Rainbow Bridge National Monument

Utah

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1910

160 acres

Website: nps.gov/rabr

Overview

The statistics on Rainbow Bridge are impressive: it spans 275 feet with a height of 290 feet (compare that to the 151-foot-tall Statue of Liberty), and the sandstone at its top is 42 feet thick and 33 feet wide. Before geologists started lumping together natural bridges and arches, it was considered the largest natural bridge in the world formed by water running underneath it. The Navajo and other tribes consider Rainbow Bridge sacred and request that nobody walks beneath its span. When Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963, many archaeological sites were submerged beneath Lake Powell and at the reservoir’s peak volume this sacred site has had water reach to its base. The National Park Service (NPS) manages Rainbow Bridge National Monument as part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area that straddles the Utah-Arizona border.

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments. It is now available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Boat ride, Rainbow Bridge

Must-Do Activity

The NPS runs Carl Hayden Visitor Center in Page, Arizona, which is a good place to plan a visit to Rainbow Bridge or purchase tickets for a Glen Canyon Dam tour. If you do not want to attempt to navigate 50 miles one-way in your own boat (rentals available), there are all-day commercial boat trips into Bridge Canyon. Depending on the water level, the hike from the boat dock to the first overlook of the natural bridge is around one-mile one-way and is not wheelchair accessible. Photos do not do Rainbow Bridge justice, and you must see it for yourself to truly appreciate the size of this entry on our Top 10 NPS Sites for Natural Bridges/Arches.

Best Trail

There is always a hike from the boat dock to the overlook, but if you are in good shape continue on the trail around to the left to see the other side of Rainbow Bridge. With proper permits from the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, Arizona, it is possible to backpack into the site on either a 14-mile or 17-mile trail.

Photographic Opportunity

Obviously, Rainbow Bridge is the star attraction here. Navajo legends tell how one of the Hero Twins was saved from drowning when his father Jo’hanaa’éí (the Sun) sent a rainbow, later turned to stone to symbolize a father’s love. Another story says a measuring worm turned itself to stone to save both Hero Twins.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://nps.gov/rabr/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

There is a $30 per vehicle entrance fee at the two marinas in Page (America the Beautiful passes accepted), in addition to charges for guided boat tours.

Road Conditions

The roads are paved to the marinas in Page, Arizona. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is famous for its backcountry 4×4 roads (like Hole-in-the-Rock Road) and flash floods, so check with a park ranger before attempting anything unpaved. A fee is charged to ferry across Lake Powell between Halls Crossing and Bullfrog Marina.

Camping

There are several developed campgrounds in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (mostly near marinas), but free primitive camping is also allowed along most dirt roads. A permit is required for backpack camping in the beautiful Coyote Gulch area off Hole-in-the-Rock Road.

Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)

Navajo National Monument (Arizona)

Scott’s father on the trail to Rainbow Bridge

Explore More – Where along the trail to the Rainbow Bridge overlook is the three-toed dinosaur print found in the sandstone?

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

Kentucky

Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument

January 15, 2025 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument

Kentucky

Managed by National Park Service

Established 2019

1,459 acres

Website: nps.gov/misp

Overview

During the Civil War, the Battle of Mill Springs started on January 19, 1862 in the Union state of Kentucky (where slavery was still legal). North of the Cumberland River, a surprise attack by the Confederate Army was repelled and celebrated as the first decisive Union victory in the western theater. The battlefield was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993 and acquired by the National Park Service (NPS) in 2020.

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments. It is now available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Museum, film, Mill Springs National Cemetery, Zollicoffer Park, Brown-Lanier House, Mill Springs Mill, Lake Cumberland

Must-Do Activity

Start your visit by watching the film at the NPS visitor center next to Mill Springs National Cemetery, opened in 1867 as one of 12 original National Cemeteries. The driving tour starts from there south down Kentucky Highway 235 to Zollicoffer Park where there are markers for Confederate General Felix K. Zollicoffer (buried beneath the “Zollie Tree”) and a Confederate mass grave. There are six more stops on the driving tour north of Lake Cumberland, but there is no bridge across the reservoir, so to reach the final two stops requires backtracking and connecting to Kentucky Highway 1275. There you will reach the Brown-Lanier House at Mill Springs that was utilized by both sides of the battle. Open seasonally to the public, the working grist mill on Lake Cumberland dates to 1877 and is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. The final tour stop is at the West-Metcalfe House that served as a Confederate headquarters and hospital, but is not currently open.

Best Trail

A 0.75-mile walking trail in Zollicoffer Park goes down into a ravine that was behind the Confederate lines, as explained by interpretive signs there. You can also walk to the edge of Lake Cumberland at Ferry Landing on the north shore and Mill Springs Mill on the south shore.

Photographic Opportunity

Built in 1860, the Brown-Lanier House offers guided tours inside the house that was twice hit by artillery during the Battle of Mill Springs.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/misp/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

Tours of the Brown-Lanier House now seem to be free and offered by NPS rangers every other Saturday in the summer.

Road Conditions

All roads are paved, but be careful while driving onto small pullouts along the highways.

Camping

There are campgrounds along Lake Cumberland and further north at Mammoth Cave National Park.

Shiloh National Military Park (Tennessee-Mississippi)

Fort Donelson National Battlefield (Tennessee-Kentucky)

Explore More – What other two names has the Battle of Mill Springs been called?

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

Arizona

Tonto National Monument

January 8, 2025 Raven About The Parks 6 Comments

Tonto National Monument

Arizona

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1907

1,120 acres

Website: nps.gov/tont

Overview

After farming along the Salt River (or Rio Salado) for centuries, in the 1300s the Salado people moved to natural caves where they constructed cliff dwellings. Perhaps following catastrophic flooding or drought, the entire Tonto Basin was abandoned by 1450. When construction of Theodore Roosevelt Dam began in 1906, its namesake President protected these ruins using the power of the 1906 Antiquities Act.

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments. It is now available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Museum, film, Lower Cliff Dwelling, Upper Cliff Dwelling guided tour

Must-Do Activity

Every visitor who is in good enough shape for the 350 foot ascent should make their way up to Lower Cliff Dwelling (with 28 rooms) after watching the film at the National Park Service visitor center. While at the top, talk to the volunteer stationed there for more information about the people who once inhabited the ruins. Only offered from November through April, the 10 a.m. ranger-guided tour (reservations required) to the Upper Cliff Dwelling (with 40 rooms) crosses washes and ascends 600 feet via switchbacks and 60 steps over a three-mile roundtrip.

Best Trail

The paved trail to the Lower Cliff Dwelling gains 350 feet of elevation in a half-mile, providing excellent views of Theodore Roosevelt Lake.

Photographic Opportunity

Hiking to Lower Cliff Dwelling is a good introduction to native plants of the Sonoran Desert, including the iconic saguaro cactus, yucca, sotol, cholla, and barrel cactus.

Peak Season

Winter

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/tont/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$10 per person or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

Highway 188 provides paved access to Tonto National Monument between Payson and Globe, while Arizona Highway 88 (“Apache Trail”) is unpaved past Canyon Lake and until December 2024 that section was closed due to a wash out in 2019. Together they make for a beautiful scenic loop drive suitable for high-clearance vehicles.

Camping

There are campgrounds around Theodore Roosevelt Lake and within Tonto National Forest, which also allows dispersed camping in some areas.

Montezuma Castle National Monument (Arizona)

Tuzigoot National Monument (Arizona)

Explore More – When was the nearby village of 15 pit houses at Eagle Ridge first settled by humans in the Tonto Basin?

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

New Mexico

Capulin Volcano National Monument

December 30, 2024 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Capulin Volcano National Monument

New Mexico

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1916

793 acres

Website: nps.gov/cavo

Overview

Capulin Volcano is a cinder cone that started to form 60,000 years ago in the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field of northeast New Mexico. It would eventually erupt enough to rise 1,300 feet above the surrounding landscape and cover 16 square miles with lava. The volcanic field was last active about 10,000 years ago, so not nearly as recently as Arizona’s Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Capulin is the Spanish name for the native choke cherry tree (Prunus virginiana).

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments. It is now available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Museum, film, Capulin Volcano

Must-Do Activity

Start your visit at the National Park Service visitor center off Highway 325 where you can view the exhibits and watch the film. A two-mile drive leads from there to the rim of Capulin Volcano at 8,182 feet of elevation, where there are two hiking trails. At the top, watch the skies for golden eagles and the stems of trees and bushes for dense groupings of ladybugs.

Best Trail

There are two trails at the top of the cinder cone, one that drops to the bottom of the crater in 0.2 miles and another that circles the rim for one mile (going counterclockwise is recommended as less strenuous). There is also the one-mile Lava Flow Trail loop and a short paved Nature Walk at the visitor center, as well as the Boca Trail that loops 1.7 miles along the western base of Capulin Volcano where you might see mule deer.

Photographic Opportunity

The crater of the cinder cone is about 415 feet below the rim, which offers views into Colorado, Texas, and Oklahoma on a clear day.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/cavo/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$10 per vehicle or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

The road is paved two miles from the visitor center to the parking lot at the top of Capulin Volcano, but gated off overnight even though the park is International Dark-Sky Association Gold Tier Certified.

Camping

There is not an NPS campground at the National Monument, but we have stayed at the nice campground at Sugarite State Park 33 miles west in Raton near Interstate 25. Kiowa National Grassland and Clayton Lake State Park also offer camping.

Fort Union National Monument (New Mexico)

Pecos National Historical Park (New Mexico)