Isn’t Steamtown a National Park? Doesn’t the federal government pay for it?

This content originally appeared on Discover NEPA Iron Horse Society | Supporting Steamtown National Historic Site, by Mike Rinkunas

Sort of: Congress does fund Steamtown, and your tax dollars do help keep the place open every day.

But it’s never been fully funded at the level it was supposed to be! When Steamtown was established, the General Accounting Office recommended around $6.5 million a year for museum operations and $12 million for restoration work. What Congress actually appropriated was closer to $5 million total. Funding has grown to a little over $6 million a year now, but it hasn’t kept pace with inflation.

So, the government is helping, and that help matters. It’s just that the help covers the basics: staff, keeping the lights on, keeping the buildings standing. It’s not designed to run mainline steam excursions, restore a century-old fleet of locomotives, or fund the kind of programming visitors keep asking for. That’s the gap Steamtown’s friends groups exist to help close.

Little known fact: National Park Service isn’t legally allowed to ask you for money. No corporate sponsorships, no direct fundraising asks – it’s just not allowed. That’s why almost every one of the 433 national parks has a “friends of” group working alongside it to raise the money the park itself can’t ask for.

But you can help the park through Iron Horse! Click the Give Now button above!