The Augusta boyhood home of former President Woodrow Wilson has been designated a National Historic Landmark, local officials announced today.

Secretary of the Interior Dick Kempthorne designated the house on Seventh Street, as well as 15 other national sites, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Aaron Copeland House, both in New York.

The designation recognizes the sites as nationally significant historic places because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States, according to a press release from Historic Augusta.

Less than 2,500 historic resources are currently National Historic Landmarks, the highest designation a building, site, district, structure or object can receive in our nation.

The Wilson house joins other sites in Richmond County which have previously been designated, such as the Augusta Canal Industrial District, Stephen Vincent Benet House, College Hill, Old Medical College Building and Meadow Garden.

The Boyhood Home of President Woodrow Wilson is the first building in Augusta to receive the designation since 1996.