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National Park superintendent outlines Reconstruction Era NHP staffing, education and site plans
Summary
Laura Waller, superintendent of the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, outlined staffing growth, visitor programs and property stewardship across the park’s Beaufort sites; she cited education field trips, a growing interpretation staff and plans to formalize permitting and partner agreements.
Laura Waller, superintendent of Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, summarized the park’s purpose (preserving Reconstruction-era stories and African Americans’ quest for freedom) and described staffing and program growth since 2019. Waller said the park has expanded to roughly 16 permanent full-time staff and emphasized education and volunteer programming: new field-trip booking on the park website, school curricula tied to state standards and a stronger volunteer and park-guide program.
Waller said the park now manages the visitor center at the old Beaufort firehouse, an administration and collections location, and a donated property at 913 West Street that will become a learning center. She described the park’s acquisition authority under the John Dingell Act and recent completion of a general management plan and a three-year internal strategic planning exercise that identified priorities on workforce development, stewardship baseline documents (historic-structure reports, archaeological baselines), business-practice continuity, and formal permitting and cooperative agreements with localities (noting a prospective cooperative management agreement with the Town of Port Royal).
Why it matters: The national park protects local historic resources and provides education programs and heritage tourism benefits; Waller’s staffing and program growth suggests rising park activity and opportunities for local coordination on exhibits, school programs and permitting for outside groups.
Quote (selected): "Reconstruction Era National Historical Park preserves and interprets the resources and complex national stories of Reconstruction" — Laura Waller, Superintendent.
Ending: Waller invited municipal partners to coordinate on exhibits, youth programming and permitting, and said the park will continue to expand field-trip and volunteer offerings across Beaufort County sites.
