Press Release for immediate release

APPROVED IN CALIFORNIA!

The Dennison Railroad Depot Museum has been unanimously approved for National Landmark Status by the National Park Service at their meeting this week in California.

This follows earlier approval by the National Landmarks Commission in November in Washington, DC.

Patty Henry of the National Landmark Commission reported today to museum director Wendy Zucal that “The Depot sailed through the process with flying colors.  The NPS accepted the

recommendation presented to them by the National Landmarks Commission to make the Dennison Depot a National Landmark.”

The next and final step will be for the Secretary of the Department of the Interior to sign the official paperwork and Henry states that they are preparing the paperwork for signature now

and have great hopes it will be signed by the end of summer.

National Historic Landmarks are nationally significant historic places designed by the Secretary of the Interior because they process exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States.  Today, fewer than 2,500 historic places bear this national distinction. 

Ohio, because with its presidents, battle fields and other historic sites, has one of the larger number of National Landmarks at 69.  However, the Dennison Depot, which will be number 70, is the only one in Tuscarawas County and the first designation since 2007.

The Dennison Depot was nominated for a landmark for its role as a military canteen site that served 1.5 million soldiers in WWI and WWII.  It is one of the only sites in the country that still reflects the WWII trackside Canteen image that was so crucial to feeding soldiers, boosting morale and engaging communities in the war effort.  So beloved by the soldiers, Dennison was nicknamed “Dreamsville USA” by them during the war.  Ohio had the largest number of trackside Canteens at 22.

As a National Landmark, The Depot will now share the status with such sites as President Garfield’s home, Thomas Edison’s birthplace, The Fallen Timbers Battlefield, Johnson’s Island Civil War Prison, Serpent Mound and President William McKinley’s Tomb.

Zucal shares that they have worked on this for ten years.  “Everyone told us to give up, that we could not accomplish National status.  But true to Dennison’s railroad heritage and grit, we never gave up.”

For additional information on the Dennison Depot contact the Museum at 877-278-8020 or www.dennisondepot.org.

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