The National Park Service is turning 106. Here’s where to celebrate in Pennsylvania

The National Park Service marks its 106th birthday Thursday, and celebrations will take place across Pennsylvania.

The National Parks of Western Pennsylvania (WEPA) will commemorate the occasion with “WEPA in a Weekend” from Thursday through Sunday.

Visitors to Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Johnstown Flood National Memorial, Flight 93 National Memorial, Fort Necessity National Battlefield and Friendship Hill National Historic Site can collect a medallion at each park (while supplies last) during the free, four-day event.

“The National Parks of Western Pennsylvania provide a place for local residents and visitors from around the world to recreate, relax, and find inspiration,” Superintendent Stephen Clark said in a statement. “WEPA in a Weekend encourages visitors to learn about these special places over the National Park Service birthday.”

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site: The Allegheny Portage National Railroad was the first railroad over the Alleghenies — marking the first single, direct route between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh — and the final link to the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal.

Johnstown Flood National Memorial: This site marks the May 31, 1889, flood that killed more than 2,000 people when the South Fork Dam failed.

Flight 93 National Memorial: The NPS says this site “commemorates the passengers and crew members of Flight 93 who, on September 11, 2001, courageously gave their lives thereby thwarting a planned attack on our nation’s capital.”

Fort Necessity National Battlefield: This is the site of the opening battle of the French and Indian War in July 1754.

Friendship Hill National Historic Site: This is the restored country estate of Albert Gallatin, an immigrant financier and diplomat who served as treasury secretary under presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The NPS calls Gallatin “America’s forgotten Founding Father.”

At the other end of the state, Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park will celebrate the park service’s birthday with a free Founders Day Extravaganza program for families from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday and Saturday. There will be hands-on activities about archaeology and preservation, as well as national parks trivia and prizes.

The Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton will hold a free Founders Day celebration from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. Thursday. The Lackawanna caboose will be open for viewing and visitors can create birthday cards and color sheets of locomotives. There will also be talks about paint schemes used by different railroads.

NPS birthday

The NPS was established when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act Aug. 25, 1916. The first national park is even older: President Ulysses S. Grant established Yellowstone National Park in 1872, setting aside more than 2 million acres in the Montana and Wyoming territories.

The NPS is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior and has about 20,000 employees, though some are temporary or seasonal.

Pennsylvania boasts the smallest national park site in the nation, according to the NPS. The Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial, the Philadelphia home of the Polish general who fought in the American Revolution, is 0.02 acres.

The commonwealth offers about two dozen historic sites and parks that mark the Keystone State’s rich history.

These are additional NPS sites in Pennsylvania:

• National scenic trails: Several trails pass through the state, including: the Appalachian, which runs from Maine to Georgia; the North Country, which runs from Vermont to North Dakota; and the Potomac Heritage, which runs from the Potomac River to the Allegheny Highlands.
• National historic trails: The Captain John Smith Chesapeake runs along the bay from Virginia to New York. Smith documented hundreds of American Indian communities when he explored the Chesapeake Bay in 1608, the NPS says, and “today, sites on his map are archeological treasures and sacred sites for tribal citizens.” The Lewis & Clark follows the routes of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Pacific Ocean. The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route retraces the journey that American and French soldiers took to fight the British at Yorktown.
• Chesapeake Bay: “Here, you can visit major league cities, colonial towns, American Indian landscapes, farms and fishing villages,” the NPS says of the watershed.
• National recreation area: The Delaware Water Gap site is based in Bushkill, along the river.
• National historic sites: Edgar Allan Poe lived in Philadelphia for six years. The farm of President Dwight D. Eisenhower is next to the Gettysburg battlefield. The NPS says Gloria Dei Church in Philadelphia is Pennsylvania’s oldest church. Hopewell Furnace in Elverson highlights industrial operations in early America.
• National historical parks: First State marks Delaware’s status as the First State to ratify the Constitution and spreads into Pennsylvania. Valley Forge, the site of the Continental Army’s encampment during the winter of 1777-78, honors the sacrifices of the Revolutionary War generation.
• National military park: Gettysburg was the site of a pivotal American Civil War battle.
• National wild and scenic river: “In 2000, the National Wild and Scenic River System incorporated key segments of the Lower Delaware River to form this unit of the National Park System” in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the NPS said.
• Scenic and recreational river: The Upper Delaware offers canoeing in rapids and quiet pools, as well as fishing among hills and villages, the NPS says, in counties along the river in Pennsylvania (Pike and Wayne) and in New York.