President's Note: Our Shared Future
At the National Trust, our work is driven by an unshakable faith in what preservation makes possible. In neighborhoods across every state, we’ve seen how saving and reimagining historic places creates opportunity, belonging, empathy, and hope.
Preservation isn’t passive—it’s generative. It not only safeguards memories; it also makes possible a just and shared future.
For our cover story of this issue, we asked a handful of National Trust Advisors about places in the United States where you can see firsthand the benefits of historic preservation. Their answers ranged from a house where President Lincoln lived to a mining town and even an entire group of islands.
At President Lincoln’s Cottage in Washington, D.C., for example, history becomes a platform for civic reflection and youth leadership. This National Trust Historic Site, according to advisor Linda Dishman, puts into perspective how Lincoln understood the full cost of the Civil War and provides meaningful context to a history that most Americans believe they already know.
And in Butte, Montana, a once-booming mining town is drawing new energy from its diverse cultural heritage and proud industrial history. Here, preservation supports tourism as well as a community’s effort to define its future by listening to echoes of its past.
A visit to the United States Virgin Islands demonstrates how historic preservation is safeguarding centuries of layered history—from Indigenous heritage and African craftsmanship to towns older than the U.S. Ongoing restoration in towns like Christiansted, Frederiksted, Charlotte Amalie, and Cruz Bay preserves historic architecture while also connecting locals and vacationers alike to the islands’ complex historical depth.
In our feature about the Lucille Clifton house in Baltimore, we explore the power of preservation to shape a space for creativity and imagination. Today, the house where the acclaimed poet raised her family and wrote spare yet extraordinary verse serves as a vibrant cultural hub dedicated to nurturing emerging artists, writers, and creative thinkers. It honors the legacy of Clifton and her husband, artist, educational consultant, and activist Fred Clifton. Reclaimed by their daughter Sidney Clifton in 2019, the century-old home now hosts workshops, residencies, and community events.
Each of these places shows that preservation isn’t only about saving places—it’s about what can emerge from them as they take on new purposes. Understanding. Community. Connection. Creativity. Shared identity. Preservation strengthens our foundation on which to build a more perfect union, for ourselves and our children’s children.
