On December 16, 2024, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced the designations of 19 new National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), reflecting the importance of the sites in sharing America’s diverse history. The announcement included the Summit Camp in California as one of the sites designated as a National Historic Landmark:

Summit Camp (Placer and Nevada Cos., Calif.) is the archeological remains of the largest and longest occupied Chinese railroad construction camp on the transcontinental railroad (1865-1869). It is also an influential “type site” in the emergence of Chinese diaspora studies in the field of historical archaeology in the mid-20th century.

Congratulations to CHCP's Student Docent Cultural Ambassador Program (SDCAP) for their successful Sierra Summit Tunnels Site letter-writing campaign to preserve this important site. SDCAP submitted a cover letter, with 200 individual letters of support, to the NHL Committee for their final review meeting in December. Included in congratulations are: CHCP Director/SDCAP Chair Brenda Hee Wong and CHCP Advisory Board Member Teddy Sue, leads of the letter-writing campaign.