Compiling Materials for the Other Components of a National Historic Landmark Nomination
This page provides information about determining the historic name, period of significance, and physical parameters for the nominated property, as well as which resources are contributing and noncontributing. You will find information about the maps, site plans, and photographs that you will need for the nomination.
Determining the Specific Information You Will Need to Complete the Nomination Form
You will need to determine:
- The historic name of the property (what it was called when the nationally significant events occurred)
- The time frame in which the nationally significant events associated with this property occurred (this is called the period of significance)
- Which components of the site are considered contributing resources to the property and which components are considered noncontributing resources to the property
- The boundaries of the property based on the period of national significance and those resources which contribute to that national significance
Period of Significance
The time period when a property was associated with nationally significant events, activities, and persons is called the period of significance. Enter the dates for one or more periods of time when the property attained this national significance. Some periods of significance are as brief as one day or year while others span many, even thousands, of years.
Properties significant for architecture or engineering use the date of construction and/or the dates of any significant alterations and additions for the period of significance.
For archeologically significant properties, the period of significance is the period during which or about which archeological data will provide nationally significant information.
For properties nominated under criteria other than 6, the property must possess a high degree of historic integrity for all periods of national significance listed. Archeological integrity under Criterion 6 is based on information potential rather than on the seven aspects of historic integrity.
Resources
Buildings: A building, such as a house, barn, church, hotel, or similar construction, is created principally to shelter any form of human activity. "Building" may also be used to refer to a historically and functionally related unit, such as a courthouse and jail or a house and barn.
Sites: A site is the location of a significant event, a prehistoric or historic occupation or activity, or a building or structure. While the buildings and structures on a site may be standing, ruined, or simply non-existent at this time, the location itself possesses historic, cultural, or archeological value. A site might be a battlefield or the gardens for a large estate.
Structures: Structures are those constructions intended for uses other than creating human shelter. A structure might be a chicken coop, a tunnel, a dam, a windmill, a gazebo, a roadway, or a bridge.
Objects: Objects are primarily artistic in nature or relatively small in scale. They are simply constructed. Although the object may be, by nature or design, movable, an object is usually associated with a specific setting or environment. An object might be a fountain or a monument.
Districts: A district is a collection of sites, buildings, structures, or objects. These resources are either historically connected or connected aesthetically by a plan or physical development.
Taken together, we refer to buildings, sites, structures, and objects as "resources." The NHL Program makes a distinction between resources which are "contributing" and those that are "noncontributing."
A contributing building, site, structure, or object adds to the historical associations, historic architectural qualities, or archeological values present during the period of national significance, relates to the documented significance of the property, was present during the period of significance, and possesses a high degree of historic integrity.
A noncontributing building, site, structure, or object was not present during the period of significance, or it does not relate to the documented national significance of the property. A resource is also considered noncontributing if due to alterations, disturbances, additions, or other changes, it no longer possesses a high degree of historical integrity. If resources listed in the National Register of Historic Places at the state or local level of significance are included in the NHL nomination, they should be counted as noncontributing resources for the purpose of the NHL nomination.
Please note: the majority of resources within an NHL should be contributing.
Boundaries
The boundary of the property is determined by the property's historic physical parameters.
Select boundaries that encompass the entire nationally significant historic resource, including modern additions that may be attached to historic resources. Include any surrounding land historically associated with the resource that retains a high degree of historic integrity and contributes to the property's historic significance.
The area to be nominated should be large enough to include all nationally significant historic features of the property, but should not include buffer zones or acreage around the edges of the property not directly contributing to the national significance of the property.
For archeological properties, the boundaries of the property are defined by the physical extent of the nationally significant resources and may include both above and below ground features that can contribute nationally significant information.
The area to be designated should be large enough to include all historic and/or archeological features of a property, but should not include buffer zones or acreage not directly contributing to the significance of the property.
Map of the Property
You are required to submit an electronic site plan map of your property and floor plans if your property is a building. Please do not embed maps, site plans, or other illustrations in the text of the nomination. Use the illustration pages provided for that purpose.
For additional information, please consult the National Register's guidelines for electronic maps.
Submit at least one detailed map or sketch map for districts and for properties containing a substantial number of resources. Plat books, insurance maps, bird's-eye views, district highway maps, and hand-drawn maps may be used. Sketch maps need not be drawn to a precise scale, unless they are also used in place of a verbal boundary description.
The information on the maps should not rely solely on color coding. Please also use coding, crosshatching, numbering, or other graphic techniques.
The maps should have:
- The boundaries of the property, carefully delineated
- The names of streets or highway numbers, including those bordering the property
- A north arrow and approximate scale, if done to scale
- Names or numbers of parcels that correspond to the description of the resources in Section 7
- Contributing buildings, sites, structures, and objects, (these should be numbered and the numbering should correspond to the listing of buildings, sites, structures, and objects listed in Section 7)
- Noncontributing buildings, sites, structures, and objects (these should be numbered and the numbering should correspond to the listing of buildings, sites, structures, and objects listed in Section 7)
- Other natural features or land uses covering substantial acreage or having historical significance such as forests, fields, rivers, lakes, etc.
- Archeological sites and districts should also include the location and extent of disturbances, including previous excavations; the location of specific significant features and artifact loci; and the distribution of sites if it is an archeological district.
If the original map(s) is larger than 8½ x 11 inches, a copy must also be submitted that has been reduced to such size.
If the resource is a single building, or a building or buildings are major contributing resources, floor plans of the major levels of the building(s) are required even if the property is not being considered nationally significant for its architecture (Criterion 4). These floor plans need not be done to scale or by a professional architect; hand-drawn floor plans are acceptable.
Floor plans assist in clarifying the verbal description of the property in Section 7 of the nomination; they also help determine the historic integrity of the property.
Floor plans should clearly show any structural changes such as new or sealed door or window openings, and additions or removals such as porches, fireplaces, stairs, or interior partition walls.
Photographs
Photographs submitted to the National Historic Landmarks Program are regarded as official documentation. They should be clear, well-composed, and provide an accurate visual representation of the property and its significant features. They must illustrate the qualities discussed in the nomination.
Photographs should show both historically significant resources and illustrate the historic integrity of those resource(s). The photos of the property must be current ones.
Please do not embed images in the nomination itself. Send the photos as separate .tiff attachments and also use the illustration pages provided for that purpose.
These photos must meet our technical requirements for digital photos. For information about the requirements, please read the National Register's Photograph Policy Factsheet. (The NHL Program follows the same guidelines.)
All photos submitted to the NPS enter into the public domain.
Examples of Other Components
Period of Significance
Ludlow Tent Colony Site
Ludlow, CO
Period of Significance: 1913-1918
In September 1913, coal miners and their families, evicted from company housing during a strike, moved into the Ludlow Tent Colony, a camp established by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) on vacant land strategically located near the entrances of two canyons leading to the mines and the small community of Ludlow, Colorado. After months of sporadic outbreaks of violence between strikers, company guards, and the Colorado National Guard, a day-long battle ensued at the Ludlow Tent Colony on April 20, 1914. The battle resulted in several deaths, including two women and eleven children who sought safety in a crude cellar located underneath one of the tents, and the destruction of the tent colony by fire. The Ludlow Massacre, which drew national attention, was a defining moment in American labor relations. In 1918, the union erected a monument to those who died at Ludlow.
Stonewall Inn
New York, NY
Period of Significance: June 28-July 3, 1969
The Stonewall Inn was the scene of important events that sparked the modern struggle for the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans. In a pattern of raids and harassment of gay establishments, the New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn on the early morning of June 28, 1969. As employees and patrons of Stonewall were arrested, a riot erupted. Demonstrations and conflicts outside the inn continued until July 3, 1969. Stonewall is regarded by many as the single most important event that led to the modern gay and lesbian liberation movement.
The Miami Circle at Brickell Point Site
Miami, FL
Period of Significance: 500 BCE-AD 900; AD 1400-1513
The Miami Circle at Brickell Point Site contains early and late components of the primary village of the Tequesta people, who were one of the first Native North American groups encountered by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513. The site possesses well-preserved evidence of American Indian architecture, considerable materials related to patterns of regional and long-distance exchange, elements of ceremonialism involving animal interments, and an association with the Tequesta people.
Contributing vs Noncontributing Resources
Little Tokyo Historic District, Los Angeles, CA
This small historic district, also known as Japantown, lies directly southeast of the Los Angeles Civic Center. Little Tokyo served as a haven and foothold for newly arriving Japanese in the early twentieth century. Beforee World War II, it was the heart of America's largest Japanese-American community. It remains the historical focal point for Japanese-Americans in Los Angeles.
Of the fourteen resources identified in the Little Tokyo Historic District, nine are contributing and four are noncontributing. The nine contributing buildings were built in the first quarter of the twentieth century and retain their appearance (and, in some cases, use), thus maintaining the character of the district from its 1905-42 period of significance. These buildings include the Japanese Union Church, the Hompa Hongwangi Buddhist Temple, the San Pedro Firm Building, and other commercial buildings. Three of the four noncontributing buildings, which date from the same time period, have been significantly modified. The fourth noncontributing building was built after the district's period of signficance.
Black Jack Battlefield, Douglas County, KS
Black Jack Battlefield was the site of the first armed conflict between pro- and anti-slavery forces in the United States. Though small in scale, the Battle of Black Jack in 1856 had implications far beyond Kansas Territory. The debate over Kansas vividly reflected growing national friction over slavery and the events at Black Jack clearly marked a turning point in the march toward the Civil War. Events here gripped the imaginations and emotions of the nation and the world; more importantly, they also further divided the nation’s already-polarized abolitionist and pro-slavery factions. As politicians, newspapers, and citizens watched the story of "Bleeding Kansas" unfold, hints of a larger and potentially violent conflict to come became increasingly evident. Black Jack Battlefield is also nationally significant for its association with abolitionist John Brown, who called for armed insurrection to end slavery.
The three contributing resources at Black Jack Battlefield are the site of the Battle of Black Jack, the Black Jack Campground, and the Santa Fe Trail. The historic integrity of the battlefied is evident in the surviving spatial arrangement of the ravines, creeks, and topography described in accounts of the battle, as well as some cultural features that remain from 1856. Sixteen noncontributing resources (six buildings, three structures, and six objects) are present within the Black Jack Battlefield . The noncontributing features in the landscape have a minimal impact on the integrity of the property. They include historical markers, post-1856 roads and drives, farm outbuildings and fences, and a park picnic shelter and grill.
Property Boundaries
Dorchester Academy Boys' Dormitory
Midway, GA
The boundary of Dorchester Academy Boys' Dormitory is the footprint of the building (depicted below as a solid gray rectangle) which includes the original 1934 building and the addition. An accompanying map titled "Plat of 24.3 Ac. Of Lands of American Mission," illustrates the footprint of the boys' dormitory.
Sage Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, Ganado, AZ
The boundaries of Historic Ganado Mission are defined as: Beginning at the north end of the Highway 264/Sage Memorial Hospital access or entrance road go north toward the sidewalk that leads to the main south entrance of building #60 (Poncel Hall). Once past the gate of the lodge pole fence surrounding the grassy area in front of building #60, go east toward a small parking and empty area bordered by a wire fence on the eastern side of the campus. The eastern fence marks the east perimeter of the campus or historic district. (It protects anyone from falling down the steep embankment of the eroded bed of the Pueblo Colorado Wash.)
The boundary goes north until it reaches a dirt road parallel to the wire fence and to Elm Avenue (Street). The dirt road serves as an alley to the buildings on the eastern boundary of the campus including #’s 58, 57,56, 55.42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, and 36. This dirt road ends to the east of building # 36 in a turn around circle, but a foot path leads across the irrigation ditch where the siphon crossing the wash enters the ditch. The boundary turns west and follows the ditch behind building #’s 36 and 35.
Continuing westerly along the elevated bank of the ditch the boundary descends to the level of another dirt road. The boundary is near the north side of building #30 (Haldeman and turns to the north to the perimeter dirt road on the northern boundary of the campus. The boundary then turns west and continues parallel to the Pueblo Colorado River and the perimeter fence.
After passing building #’s 29, 28, 27, 26, and 25 the boundary turns south and continues southerly until it arrives on the bank of the irrigation ditch that now curves slowly to the southwest. Following the ditch, when the bridge for Pinyon Lane over the ditch is reached the boundary turns to the west on Pinon Lane and continues onto still another dirt and partially graveled road. After passing buildings #15 (Red Barn), #16 (Hog House) and a tall, old pinon tree, the boundary turns south to arrive at the southwest corner of the barn; it then turns east and goes back to the irrigation ditch bank. The boundary follows that bank in a southwesterly direction until arriving at the bridge that marks the place to turn east onto the old East – West Highway.
The boundary now extends eastward until the northwest corner of building #4 (Seymour Community House) is reached. The boundary extends south to the alley behind buildings #4 and #3, turns east on the alley to the road between building #3 and #2, then turns north back to the East – West Highway. Once this main graveled and partially asphalt road is reached, the boundary continues east until arriving at the original starting place.
Archeological Boundary
Menoken Indian Village Site, Burleigh County, ND
Last updated: August 26, 2022