Nellie Longsworth was the founding President of Preservation Action and served in that role for 22 years. Nellie died on March 1, 2021 at the age of 87 and left an inspiring legacy for generations of preservation advocates.
Her army of grassroots advocates and lobbying force were instrumental in passing key historic preservation laws: the federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit, amendments to the NHPA, and many others.
Upon her retirement in 1998, Nellie was honored on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for her leadership.
Nellie was a prolific teacher and mentor, having taught courses at Columbia University, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, and George Washington University.
In 2007, Nellie was awarded the Louise E. du Pont Crowninshield Award, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s highest honor for individual achievement in historic preservation.
In 2017, Preservation Action created the Nellie Longsworth Award for Outstanding Leadership in Historic Preservation Advocacy, recipients include Tersh Boasberg and Dana Crawford.
Nellie leaves behind her beloved children Jennifer, Jeff, and Mark, and a community of historic preservation activists who adored her. The family requests that donations be made to the Preservation Action Foundation.
Tributes from Preservation Action Members/Board Members:
Richard Longstreth, Washington, D.C.
Nellie was a preservation phenomenon all by herself — a great, dynamic force of the Hill and with preservationists nationally. Back in the late 1970s PA’s gatherings were very important for many people still new to field to meet, exchange ideas, and have a terrific time. They generated a real community among those engaged in a still nascent movement. I was also delighted when Nellie agreed to teach a course in the politics of preservation at GW, offering insights one could get no where else.
John Tess, California
“Nellie was an incredible person who I considered a fellow preservation as well as a good friend. She was force that will truly be missed.”
James Glass, Ph.D, Indiana
Dear Preservation Action Colleagues: I’m so sorry to hear of Nellie Longsworth’s passing. She was a giant in the preservation movement and a wonderful advocate for its message.
I conducted an oral history interview with Nellie in 1986, as part of my doctoral research at Cornell on the National Historic Preservation Act and the federal-state preservation program. The recording for that interview is at the Cornell University Archives. In our session, Nellie recalled the founding of Preservation Action and its first victories in Congress with the original historic preservation tax incentives of 1976 and creation of the Historic Preservation Fund. She then described PA’s efforts to pass the 1980 amendments to the National Historic Preservation Act and enactment in 1981 of the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit.
Jennifer Longsworth (Nellie’s daughter)
I was living with Mom when she put together her first Advocacy Week. She worked so hard and was so excited and proud of herself for teaching advocacy to a whole new generation! I know she would be proud to see that so much of what she started is still going strong.
Katie Eggers Comeau, New York
I was one of the last summer interns under Nellie’s leadership, in the summer of 1997, when Susan West Montgomery was on board to learn the ropes while Nellie was still leading the organization, and I felt so lucky to experience that moment of transition. Nellie was such a tremendous inspiration and I’m sure everyone who had the chance to work with her would agree. I can still hear her distinctive voice in my head when I think about her!
Susan West Montgomery, Preservation Action’s 2nd President wrote a touching tribute for the National Trust Forum.
Archives Resources:
University of Maryland
https://archives.lib.umd.edu/repositories/2/resources/1375
Cornell University
https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/RMM04327.html
Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Longsworth
Writings by Nellie: https://forum.savingplaces.org/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=3b0108a3-89e9-0412-9706-55e4b82d0fad
2001 Interview for Pioneers of Public History. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/tph.2001.23.1.9?seq=1