Last week, the National Trust for Historic Preservation released its annual list of the most endangered historic places. This year’s list includes the Pamunkey Indian Reservation in King William County.

The oldest extant reservation in the country, the reservation is joined on the list by Hotel Casa Blanca, Idlewild, Mich., a historic Black resort community: Cedar Key, a chain of small islands off the coast of Florida: and the Terminal Island Japanese American Tuna Street Buildings, in Los Angeles, Calif. a former fishing village whose community was incarcerated during World War II, among other sites.

We hope highlighting the challenges that this land and the people that live on it face will bring about some changes. There is much work to be done.

As we have seen, getting put on a list doesn’t solve the problems that aging buildings and properties face. The former Community Hospital, once a cornerstone of Black medical care in the city, was added to Preservation Virginia’s 2024 list of Virginia’s Most Endangered Historic Places. Yet, after months of protests and promises, the old hospital sits neglected, its exterior marked by fading banners but little else to suggest a restoration is on the horizon.

Some of our oldest landmarks need our support and the National Trust has the right idea. We can’t let these places fade away, we need to keep fighting for their future.