The Hill News

On September 15, the Army formally deactivated Fort Monroe, the largest stone fort ever built in the United States- also the only one surrounded by a moat. 
  
With luck, Fort Monroe will become America's newest national park or monument, due in large part to strong local support from the Hampton Roads community and the Commonwealth of Virginia. 
  
That fits a positive pattern. Many of the heritage places now protected as national parks were preserved because local people brought the treasures in their backyards to the attention of the nation. 
  
For example, local boosters in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, including schoolchildren, were driving forces behind preserving lush Appalachian scenery within Great Smoky Mountains National Parkâ€"now America's most visited park. 
 

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