Preserving America's Rural Heritage
The Farm Bill
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is working to bring new federal resources to help conserve rural heritage across the country. Learn More
Rural Pilot Programs
With support from the W.K. Kellog Foundation, we are working with partner organizations to demonstrate preservation-based rural development strategies in regions of Arkansas and Kentucky. Learn More
Barn Publication
Many farmers are using older barns and farm buildings for sustainable agriculture. Find out why in a new publication. Learn More
Rural America, which includes some 55 million people and 80 percent of the nation’s landscape, contains a diverse array of historic resources. Rural historic places range from farmsteads and ranches to Main Streets, country stores, schools, churches, mill villages, bridges, scenic byways, fieldstone walls, archeological sites and much more.
Our Position
In partnership with local, state and national organizations, the National Trust helps rural communities protect historic places and implement sustainable, heritage-based development strategies. Conserving our rural heritage helps build more sustainable local economies and increases quality of life.
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Increasingly, our rural heritage is threatened. Major economic, cultural and demographic shifts are bringing changes to rural communities, not all of them welcome. In some rural regions, shrinking agricultural, forestry, mining and manufacturing employment is leading to population loss, neglect and abandonment of historic structures and sites. In high growth areas near cities and resorts, new development is literally consuming the historic rural landscape. The National Trust calls attention to threatened historic sites through its annual list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. More than 20 rural endangered places have been included on this list since 1988.
Rural Heritage on on the PreservationNation Blog 
