Atchison Village was entered into the National Register of Historic Places on May 30, 2003. The National Register of Historic Places is the Nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect our historic and archeological resources. Properties listed in the Register include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. The National Register is administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The nomination was authorized by the Atchison Village Board of Directors in 2002, and the nomination, prepared by Carey & Co., Historic Preservation Architects, was paid for by the Rosie the Riveter Trust. The nomination form, which includes a detailed historical description of Atchison Village, can be viewed at http://www.rosietheriveter.org/Atchison%20National%20Reg%20Nom.pdf.

Atchison Village is also an official part of the Rosie the Riveter WW II/Home Front National Historical Park, established by H.R. 4063 / Public Law 106-352, Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park Establishment Act of 2000 (Oct. 24, 2000; 114 Stat. 1370. The legislation was signed by President Clinton in October 2000. See http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ352.106.pdf.

The Richmond Housing Authority was the first housing authority in the country to manage a defense housing project built under the Lanham Act of 1940, and Atchison Village was the first project of the fledgling Richmond Housing Authority. Atchison Village was actually started in 1941, prior to Pearl Harbor, as the Richmond Kaiser shipyards cranked up to build ships for Great Britain via the Lend-Lease Program. Eventually, Richmond developed the largest federally funded housing program in the nation, totaling some 21,000 units. Most were torn down after the war, but Atchison Village, built to higher standards than most of the later projects, survived.

Listing on the National Register of Historic places not only will bring prestige to Atchison Village but will open up a number of benefits connected to preservation incentives, including the opportunity to receive grant funding and assistance for a variety of uses, tax credits and more flexible building codes ( see <http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=1074> for more information).