National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, member-supported nonprofit established by an Act of Congress when President Harry S. Truman signed its chartering legislation on 26 October 1949. It was created after leaders of the young American preservation movement recognised the need for a national organisation to support and coordinate grassroots efforts to save historic buildings, neighbourhoods and landscapes. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Trust built its national profile through direct stewardship of historic sites, publication of Preservation magazine beginning in 1952, and advocacy that helped shape the landmark National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which established the framework of federal support and review still used today. Over more than seven decades the Trust has grown its portfolio of historic sites and affiliated properties, spanning periods and styles from eighteenth century Drayton Hall in South Carolina to the Modernist Glass House in Connecticut, while its advocacy, education and grantmaking programmes support preservation efforts nationwide.