Stone wall inscribed with the Declaration of Sentiments

Women's History in National Parks

For decades women have played a key role in the development, maintenance, and preservation of our national parks. NPF is committed to helping the National Park Service preserve and share more of the extraordinary and everyday lives of these women.

Support Women in Parks Grants

Telling a Broader History

National parks preserve and share stories of visionary women who dared to imagine a different future. We continue to illuminate new stories, contributing to our collective history.
Then, Now, and Beyond

With over 400 national parks across the country, there are endless women's stories to share. NPF is dedicated to supporting, uncovering, and amplifying these stories in parks, as well as championing the women in our parks today.
NPF's Commitment

NPF helps elevate and preserve women's history through our Women in Parks program and across various NPF programs, including service corps, internships, fellowships, and more.

Women's Stories in Our National Parks

It's hard to imagine what America would be like today without the contributions of dedicated, passionate women such as Maggie L. Walker or Clara Barton. For everyone traveling to national parks in search of fascinating tales about pivotal historical figures, there are quite a few places where you can learn about the women who helped shape our American history, as well as those who continue to envision our future.

Every national park has a woman's story to tell. Some parks are dedicated to the life and legacy of one figure or group of individuals, such as Harriet Tubman National Historical Park or Freedom Riders National Monument. These places focus on the stories and impact of those who shaped our nation, including the women who dared to imagine a different future. Memorials serve as a reminder of those we've lost as well as the legacy of unsung sacrifices of countless others. Parks known for their landscapes and scenic vistas, such as Biscayne National Park or Cape Hatteras National Seashore, continue to depend upon the work of women to study and conserve these treasured places so they are enjoyed by future generations.

For over 100 years, our national parks have reflected our history and offered inspiration for the present and future. NPF supports history and culture programs and projects to increase access to places, cultural resources, and stories that help all people gain a deeper understanding of parks as our common ground and shared inheritance. Women have - and continue to - shape the history of the United States, from the extraordinary to the everyday, and their stories should be reflected in our national parks.

NPF's Work in This Space

NPF supports national parks, programs, and projects that highlight the stories of women who made history and those who continue to shape our future.

Area of Work

History & Culture

NPF's work in preserving history and culture supports programs and projects that identify and share more inclusive stories in parks across the country.

Learn More

Program
Women in Parks
NPF's Women in Parks program supports projects that highlights the contributions women have made to our country and the role they continue to play.
Program
NPS Mellon Humanities Fellowship
NPS Mellon Humanities Fellowship program supports the work of humanities scholars whose research and analysis of the complex and fascinating histories in and around our parks helps us discover untold perspectives and new voices.
Program
Inclusive Storytelling
Inclusive Storytelling grants support contemporary research in parks, as well as projects that transform this research into relevant interpretative products – from interpretive park programs and exhibits to websites and videos.

Recent Projects

Explore just some of the projects supported by NPF that help preserve and share the stories of women in our national parks.

Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument

Women in the Mississippi Movement

An Inclusive Storytelling grant supported Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument to tell the often-overlooked history of women in the Mississippi Movement by featuring them on a series of church fans at partner sites throughout Mississippi during the 90th birthday year of Miss Myrlie Evers.
Women’s History in the Pacific West Fellow
Exploring Women's History in the Pacific West
NPF supported Nicole Martin, PhD, a Women's History Fellow, in creating a digital exhibit spotlighting women's history in the Pacific West, fostering dialogue about women's contributions to American history across over 35 national park sites.

Thomas Edison National Historical Park
Commemorating Mina Edison’s Legacy
With support from NPF’s Women in Parks and Inclusive Storytelling programs, Thomas Edison National Historical Park hired an archival research intern who helped uncover new materials about Mina Edison, highlighting her role as a "Home Executive" and promoting women's equality.
Service Corps

Supporting All-Women Service Corps

NPF has supported multiple all-women-identifying service corps crews to address priority park projects, including a chainsaw crew at parks in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina, a fire corps at Yosemite and Grand Teton National Parks, and a trail crew at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Andersonville National Historic Site
Supporting Women’s History Research
An NPF Women in Parks grant enabled Andersonville National Historic Site to focus on research around the Women's Relief Corps and the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic, two women's groups that led early preservation efforts of the historic site.

Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

Suffrage Rallies & the Erie Canal

A Women in Parks grant helped produce a video program highlighting the women who traversed the Erie Canal to attend suffrage rallies in Seneca Falls, NY.
César E. Chávez National Monument

Women's Contributions to the Labor Movement

Thanks to an NPF Women in Parks grant, César E. Chávez National Monument conducted a research project to develop future in-park programs highlighting women's contributions to the labor movement.
Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument

Highlighting Carrie A. Tuggle

An NPF Women in Parks grant brought a new program to life at Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, which will research and develop educational materials on the life of Carrie A. Tuggle, a prominent civil rights activist.

Fellowships and Internships

Supporting Fellows and Interns

Fellowships and internships provide opportunities for engagement with national parks, ranging from NPF-supported postdoctoral fellowships in the sciences and humanities to internships for high school and college students to develop new interpretive content about women in national parks while growing their leadership and career-building skills.
Program Field Trips
Inspiring the Next Generation of Park Stewards
School field trips to parks focusing on women's history foster appreciation among teachers and students, while uncovering and interpreting women's history in parks highlights a more inclusive American story. Numerous Open OutDoors for Kids field trips explore aspects of women’s history, including Jimmy Carter National Historical Park highlighting First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s mental health advocacy and Harriet Tubman National Historical Park shedding light on civil rights and women’s history.

Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument

Protecting Artifacts at Belmont-Paul

When Washington, D.C.’s Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument underwent restoration, a 2022 NPF grant made sure precious artifacts donated to the site when the National Women’s Party disbanded were safely moved, stored, and reinstalled.
Survey Says

Undertaking Nationwide Research

To commemorate the centennial of the 19th amendment, NPF released the findings of a new study showing Americans wish they knew more about U.S. women's history. In the survey, 74% of respondents indicated it is extremely or very important that national parks connect people to history.
Keweenaw National Historical Park

Women's Political Activity in Keweenaw

An NPF Women in Parks grant helped Keweenaw National Historical Park in Michigan expand interpretations of women’s history and their contributions to the copper mining industry and labor strike politics in the early 20th century.

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park

Honoring Coretta Scott King

A 2021 NPF’s African American Experience Fund supported the development of an exhibit at Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park exploring and honoring the life and contributions of Coretta Scott King.
Cache la Poudre National Heritage Area

Recording the Experiences of Northern Arapaho Women

A 2020 Women in Parks grant from NPF supported the “Lifting Voices from the Shadows” project at Cache la Poudre National Heritage Area, recording and archiving the personal experiences of Northern Arapaho women. Their stories will be used to create materials such as educational videos, webinars, and future in-park programming.
Homestead National Historical Park

Women Homesteaders & The Suffrage Movement

NPF provided funds to Homestead National Historical Park to research and share resources and programs about female homesteaders and their efforts to challenge voting restrictions prior to passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.

Acadia National Park

Sharing the Stories of Women in Acadia

Acadia National Park developed women’s history interpretive materials and made stories more accessible for staff, supported by a Women in Parks grant from NPF. Funds helped the park move towards more fully representing women and their history in the park.
Death Valley National Park

Unsung Women's Histories in Death Valley

An NPF Women in Parks grant supported a project to uncover and disseminate stories of women’s life and work at Death Valley. A research historian explored material for programming and exhibits, published women’s biographies on the park website, and designed a new wayside exhibit at a mine in the park that was owned and operated by a woman.
NPS Park History Program

Collecting Oral Histories of Women in NPS

An NPF Women in Parks grant allowed NPS’s Park History Program to create an oral history collection of women who broke barriers and worked for change in the NPS. The research collection will be available in archives at the NPS History Collection, a resource that’s representative of and able to be used by all parks and programs.