What spaces led to more than $26 billion dollars of spending in their local economies? National parks.

The National Park Service recently shared the results of a 2023 report – the report showed that the money visitors spent in these local economies helped support more than 415,000 jobs.

What You Need To Know

  • The National Park Service recently shared the results of a 2023 report examining visitor spending

  • They found there was more than $26 billion of spending in local economies

  • Fort Stanwix National Monument in Rome resulted in visitors spending more than $5 million in the local economy

Even on a rainy day, folks from near and far come to experience Fort Stanwix National Monument in Rome.

“I really feel a spiritual connection with my relatives and wondering what it was like to grow up in the 1800s, in the 1700s in this area," said Florida resident Becky Roeder.

There are many reasons why people are drawn to Fort Stanwix. The monument is a reconstruction of the fort that is known as “the fort that never surrendered."

According to the National Park Service’s website, Colonel Peter Gansevoort repelled a siege in August 1777. This, along with other events, stopped a coordinated effort by the British to take northern colonies.

But there’s more to this site than that.

“Although we tend to focus on the American Revolutionary War, there's so many different aspects of that that folks can get out of it. All sorts of stories that have been uncovered, things that you can see and touch. It's a very tactile museum. So I think people like to come because it's something they can interact and connect with," said Park Ranger Kelly Cardwell.

Being a national historic site, it's free to experience the fort and its visitor center, but there is still a big economic impact.

In fact, a new National Park Service report said more than 80,000 visitors came to Fort Stanwix in 2023, spending $5.3 million in communities near the park.

“For every [dollar] spent from someone in a national park area, there is $10 worth of economic input," Cardwell said.

Roeder, for example, said she had a blast checking out the local things to do, including eating at local restaurants.

“You have great food," Roeder said. "I can't even remember the name of one restaurant, but we laughed. It was Chinese food and pizza, but it was delicious.”

“Your tax dollars go to fund this. So one of the reasons we compiled this report is so folks can understand what they're getting out of it in their economy. And for this local area, we get folks from all over the world, every single continent," Cardwell said.

Fort Stanwix has several upcoming events this fall.