Fort Vancouver National Historic Site ready to throw a party

Memorials and monuments; reserves and preserves; 16 battlefields and 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

They’re all part of the National Park Service, which is celebrating its centennial this week.

There are 413 units in the federal agency, listed under 20 designations — and 70 percent of the units don’t have the word “park” in their names.

That includes Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, which is observing the park service’s centennial Saturday.

“We are a national park,” said Bob Cromwell, acting chief ranger. “There does seem to be some confusion. A lot of people are surprised that we are a National Park Service site.”

America’s 59 landmarks that are formally designated as national parks — including Northwest icons Mount Rainier, Olympic, North Cascades and Crater Lake — are often called the crown jewels of the system.

However, there actually are more national historic sites in the Park Service than almost anything else, with 78.

The only bigger category is national monuments, with 84, including one designated Wednesday by President Obama to honor the Park Service centennial.

A 2013 federal report exploring the topic of “what’s in a name” noted that units in the national park system vary widely in their physical features, attractions and designated purposes.

History happened here

National historic sites designate places significant to U.S. history, explained the report from the Congressional Research Service. “Most are structures of historical interest, such as the homes of notable Americans, or public buildings where important events occurred.”

Fort Vancouver features a replica stockade and reconstructed buildings representing the regional headquarters of the Hudson’s Bay Company fur-trading empire around 1840. Costumed re-enactors will provide glimpses of that era in “living history” portrayals Saturday.

Pearson Air Museum explores a chapter of regional history that unfolded about 80 years later, during what’s been called the golden age of aviation, The air museum will introduce its most impressive representation of that era Saturday.

As part of the 10 a.m. opening ceremonies, Fort Vancouver will unveil its DeHavilland DH-4B Liberty biplane. It was restored to reflect the first Army aircraft that were flown here in the 1920s.

Fort Vancouver also includes a couple of original historic residences at its McLoughlin House Unit in Oregon City, Ore.

Among other distinctions, Fort Vancouver was the first national historic site west of the Mississippi River. And, in the spring edition of American Archaeology, Fort Vancouver was listed as one of 40 National Park Service units that have an archaeological focus. Fort Vancouver opens that process to the public each summer with field schools. Visitors can watch as college students get hands-on experience at an actual archaeological dig.

Monumental issue

The topic of titles does come up occasionally. People in some areas would consider it an upgrade if their local site, preserve or monument could be redesignated as a national park.

“Studies have suggested that the ‘national park’ title attracts visitors and may bring economic benefits,” according to the 2013 report from the Congressional Research Service.

Nineteen of the 20 park system categories have the word “national” in their titles. The one exception is “other designations.”

They are areas in the Washington, D.C., area that don’t easily fit into the other categories, the report explained. A couple of high-profile examples are the National Mall and the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.

The highest-profile “other” of them all is getting a new occupant soon: just who gets to move in has been the subject of intensive campaigning for quite a while. The list of “other designations” includes the White House.