In 1916, Congress passed the "Organic Act" that created the National Park Services (NPS). The act provided the basis needed to better manage the nation's already existing and growing assortment of federally protected lands by placing these under the direct supervision of a national bureau. More important, the Organic Act established the essential tenets of faith that have long guided NPS policy. According to the act, the Park Service seeks "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife" within the parks and "to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Under the sponsorship of Sir Walter Raleigh, English settlers established two colonies on Roanoke Island, North Carolina, in 1585 and 1587, respectively. The colonists from the first settlement returned to England, while the men, women, and children from the second settlement simply disappeared, thus becoming known to history as the "lost colony." Despite initial failure and tragedy, these expeditions fueled and aided future colonization attempts by England, including the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Many generations accepted the northern shore of Roanoke Island as the location for the famous "Cittie of Raleigh." The site was thus the focus of various commemorative efforts over the years. In the 1890s, the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association (RCMA) was formed to preserve the area. During the 1930s, the State of North Carolina administered the site as a state park and developed a highly conjectural reconstruction of log structures as a New Deal work project. During the same period, local enthusiasts formed the Roanoke Island Historical Association (RIHA), which took over the preservation and commemorative work of the RCMA. Over the years, Fort Raleigh's managers have focused largely on preserving and recovering the site's archeological data, interpreting the area's history to the public, and managing the park's unique partnership with RIHA. Since 1990, that mission has also included promoting greater understanding of Civil War-era events on Roanoke Island, the history of the island's indigenous inhabitants, and even the area's role in the development of early radio. This study of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site focuses upon its administrative history. This administrative history documents how Fort Raleigh National Historic Site was created and later managed by the Park Service. It discusses how NPS managers have sought to accommodate commercial and community interests while maintaining their own basic allegiance to the standards of professional scholarship and the directives of the NPS Organic Act. Within this study emphasis is placed upon the years of NPS administration, but a review of the site's historical importance is also included.

Fort Pulaski National Monument (NM) at Cockspur Island, Georgia, preserves a striking masonry fortification significant in American military history. Visitors to Form Pulaski NM learn how the golden age of coastal fortification ended on April 11, 1862, when the fort failed to withstand bombardment by Union forces who attacked it during the American Civil War using newly developed rifled canon. Other interesting themes relating to Fort Pulaski include its use as a prison for captured Confederate soldiers and as the site where John Wesley, founder of American Methodism, landed on Cockspur Island in 1736. Robert E. Lee also began his military career at Fort Pulaski by helping to oversee construction of the remarkable, once state-of-the-art example of "third system" coastal architecture. Of course, Fort Pulaski has also served as a location marking important moments in local history. However, several years passed after the United States Army abandoned the military post in 1879 before efforts to preserve the fort became serious. The War Department's announcement of the fort's selection as a potential national monument in 1915 and the proclamation of its official monument status in 1924 began a series of restoration efforts. When Fort Pulaski NM was transferred to the National Park Service (NPS) in 1933, the labor of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) transformed the neglected fort and grounds into a place for the public to visit. Since then the 5,623-acre national monument has been carefully managed and maintained, although a temporary period of neglect beset the part between 1942 and 1948 when the site reverted to War Department management. This administrative history provides an overview of Fort Pulaski from the Colonial Period to the present with attention focused upon the origins, development, and management of the site as a unit of the national park system.

Andrew Johnson National Historic Site is one of the National Park Service's smaller units. It is composed of four properties that Johnson owned in Greenville, Tennessee. The site is located within view of the Great Smoky Mountains. The National Historic Site was established to honor his memory.

This study is a narrative history about the creation and establishment of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the major characters involved, and the key decisions they made.4 It follows a straightforward historical methodology. Park documents likely to provide factual information or to shed light on important events have been reviewed and presented in a chronological fashion. Where appropriate, the chronology is subdivided by topic as represented by various chapter and section headings. This method makes the document both easier to read and to reference. Major sources of information include park annual reports, official NPS correspondence relating to the park, newspaper clippings, and oral history interviews. Various NPS studies and publications are also used. All sources are carefully cited by notes. Where bias is obvious or points of view differ, sources are weighed against each other. The author's intent is to minimize speculation and to let the record speak for itself, although inferences and conclusions are stated where appropriate.