HOPE, ARK (AP).- The home in Hope where Bill Clinton spent the first four years of his life will officially be a national historic site as of Jan. 2.

Organizers worked for years to earn the status for the Clinton First Home Museum on Hervey Street. More than 80,000 visitors from 159 countries have toured the two-story, wood-frame home since it opened as a museum in 1997.

The museum won approval last year to become part of the National Park Service.

The home remained the focal point for the future president's family for several years after he and his mother moved out.

Museum Director Martha Berryman emphasizes the experiences that Clinton had in his early youth, such as witnessing the effects of segregation, gave him the foundation for his notions of social justice.


Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.