Creating the Country’s First ‘Idea Park’

The Secret Lives of Parks

In the late 1970s, only three national park sites out of 300 had specifically been created to interpret women’s history. Judy Hart, then a chief ranger for legislation in the National Park Service’s Boston office, knew she wanted to improve that number, but she wasn’t sure how.

Hart’s determination took her to Seneca Falls, New York, as well as Capitol Hill as she won people over with the power of her idea. She used every tactic at her disposal to honor notable leaders in the movement for women’s rights, even though the run-down buildings where they had once made history didn’t meet the standard of the time for what a national park was supposed to look like.

This episode, host Jennifer Errick speaks with Judy Hart about her quest to preserve nine buildings in Seneca Falls and Waterloo, New York; her new new book, “A National Park for Women’s History”; and why the concept of an “idea park” marked an important shift in thinking for the Park Service that allowed the agency to be more inclusive.

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Episode 27, Creating the Country’s First ‘Idea Park,’ was produced by Jennifer Errick with help from Todd Christopher and Bev Stanton.

Special thanks to NPCA Mid-Atlantic Senior Program Director Pam Goddard.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer.

Learn more about Judy Hart’s new book, “A National Park for Women’s Rights,” at https://parkb.it/3SWYoaT

Learn more about this podcast and listen to the rest of our stories at thesecretlivesofparks.org

For more than a century, the National Parks Conservation Association has been protecting and enhancing America's national parks for present and future generations. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, NPCA is the nation's only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks.

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