The National Trust for Historic Preservation and its Collections. The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States (hereafter the National Trust), chartered by an Act of Congress, October 26, 1949, is a private nonprofit organization empowered to acquire “sites, buildings, and objects significant in American history and culture, to preserve and administer them for the public benefit.” Over its history, and in fulfillment of this purpose, the National Trust has acquired a number of significant American historic sites (“National Trust Historic Sites”), comprising structures, landscapes, and associated objects. These structures, landscapes, and objects are treated as artifacts that tell the history of these important places. Together they comprise the collections of the National Trust.

Read the full collections management policy below.