This Land Is Your Land: Parks and Public Spaces

Constructing to Conserve

Harry Hampton With the Bald Cypress Tree That Was Later Named for Him.

Photograph of Harry Hampton, first major advocate who first started writing and talking on creating the Congaree preserve in the 1950s

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The idea of setting aside green spaces as parks is not a recent idea, but in the second half of the 19th century the idea of creating and protecting some areas of the country as places that could be preserved on a grander scale expanded into something bigger. In the 20th century, the policies and management of these protected areas inspired a nation while at the same time helping to set a foundation for parks around the world.
What started off as a landscape turned into a place where roads, visitor centers, research centers, and other facilities were needed to maintain the integrity of these areas. The creation of the parks was not based just on the physical layout, but the political and managerial aspects as well that were need to decide what land the parks would maintain and how that would be done on such a large scale.

Building the Parks

Interpretation of Parks

Landscapes

Protecting the Parks

Stewards of the Parks

Wildlife and People

In the 1950s, Harry Hampton, a writer and editor for The State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, began a one-man campaign to preserve the nearby Congaree River floodplain. The area is the largest intact tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the United States.  Hampton used a large Bald cypress tree as an example of what would be lost if the area was not preserved.  After two decades of advocacy by Hampton and other private citizens, Congaree Swamp National Monument was established in 1976. The park's designation changed to Congaree National Park in 2003. An international biosphere reserve and federally-designated wilderness area, Congaree National Park serves as a classroom and laboratory for visitors, students, and scientists from around the world.  The park’s visitor center and the Bald cypress tree he used to promote the park were named for Harry Hampton. 
Congaree National Park Harry Hampton Photographs

Cedar Creek in Congaree Swamp National Monument.

Canoeing in Cedar Creek at Congaree Swamp National Monument.

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This Land Is Your Land: Parks and Public Spaces

All Parks Start with a Champion

All Parks Start with a Champion