The United States has more than 400 national parks—not only breathtaking vistas and landscapes of unparalleled beauty but also monuments, historic sites, memorials, battlefields, and more. With this sheet of stamps, issued in 2016 to coincide with the centennial of the National Park Service, the U.S. Postal Service® encourages everyone to visit our national parks and discover—or rediscover—abundant opportunities for exploration, learning, and fun.
In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the bill that established more than two million acres as Yellowstone National Park, the first national park in the world. By the early years of the 20th century, the West was dotted with new national parks. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the “Organic Act” that created the National Park Service. The act integrated all parks and monuments into a single federal system.
Today the grand and scenic parks of the American West remain iconic and important sites, but the definition of a park has expanded, with the National Park Service now overseeing historical parks and sites, national monuments, battlefields and military parks, recreation areas, seashores, parkways, lakeshores, and more. Each year, more than 275 million people visit a national park, where they find that some parks tell human stories at a human scale, from the Civil War to the civil rights movement, while others protect and preserve beautiful places and irreplaceable natural wonders. With the enthusiastic support of visitors, our national parks will continue to delight and inspire all Americans and impart a profound legacy for generations to come.
Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamps and the stamp sheet.
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