The U.S. National Park Service has designated the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport a National Historic Landmark.

The Barnum Museum is said to be the beating heart of PT Barnum's legacy. Executive Director Kathy Maher says the building has endured more than a decade of Mother Nature's wrath is finally back on path to reflecting to the true greatness of the iconic American showman, business leader and politician whose name it bears.

"The stories that we're capturing really represent some of the most important stories really told about America's history," says Maher.

Maher says only about 2,600 sites in the country, and 64 in Connecticut, bear the unique and coveted designation.

"So, we are now ranked among some of the most important historic places in the entire United States," she says. "National Historic Landmark's significance is critically to preserve and interpret American History and culture."

The designation is the result of years of an intense lobbying campaign to help secure the special status and funding opportunities that come with it, bringing everyone involved a deep sense of humility and gratification.

"It's been certainly a labor of love, but it's been really a cause, a crusade to make sure that this building and the stories that we tell and the objects that we preserve are here for future generations," says Maher.

Maher says the designation brings a host of new funding opportunities "that could make the museum's future very bright."