Hopewell Culture National Historical Park is pleased to host the summer archeological lecture series, Robert L. Harness Lecture Series.

Prophets and Moguls, Rangers and Rogues, Bison & Bears

Join award-winning journalist Heather Hansen for a talk and slideshow about one hundred years of the National Park Service. Most people who have stood beneath a redwood, or who have heard ghostly whispers of residents long-past among the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde, or who have climbed the stairs to gaze out from the Statue of Liberty’s crown, would agree that our National Park system is a source of pride and wonder. But 100 years ago, creating a bureau to administer America’s vast and diverse parks was a concept requiring great debate and persuasion. The story of the NPS is the story of people who fought for the protection of the places that have helped to define our national identity, those places which we now hold dear – from the blue hazy mist that hangs over fall color in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the thick, steamy waterways of the Everglades. The NPS founders were the architects of our family vacations, the inventors of icons with worldwide appeal. Their story continues with those who molded and grew the NPS through the flu pandemic, the Great Depression, World Wars and beyond.