La Paz added to National Register of Historic Places
Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz in Keene, farmworker leader Cesar Chavez’s home from 1971 until his death in 1993, has been named to the National Register of Historic Places as a nationally significant historical site.
"Cesar Chavez is one of the heroes of the 20th century, leading a non-violent movement that improved working conditions for agricultural workers and bettered the lives of thousands of Hispanic men and women and other minorities throughout the United States," U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said in a press release. "By adding La Paz, now known as the National Chavez Center, to the National Register of Historic Places, we are honoring his legacy and inviting Americans to learn more about the life and work of this extraordinary man."
The placement of La Paz on the national register makes it eligible for federal historic preservation grants, lower building code standards and, potentially, property tax breaks and tax credits for rehabilitation projects, according to the National Park Service website.
In early November a National Park System Advisory Board committee will discuss whether the site should be granted the added honor of being designated a National Historic Landmark, according to David Barna, chief spokesman for the National Park Service.
Salazar, in February, christened another major Cesar Chavez location — the Forty Acres site in Delano, which served as the original headquarters of the United Farm Workers union — as a national historic landmark.
La Paz became the heart of the UFW movement after Chavez moved there in the early 1970s.
"For my father, La Paz was a personal refuge from bitter struggles in agricultural valleys and big cities, a spiritual harbor where he recharged batteries, drew fresh inspiration and prepared for the battles ahead," said Paul F. Chavez, president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation.
Chavez is buried in La Paz.