KENT, Ohio - Kent State University holds an annual commemoration on May 4, the day in 1970 when Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on Vietnam War protestors, killing four and wounding nine.

Now the site of the shootings, 17.4 acres on the university's common area, is being recognized nationally for its historic significance.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell named the site a National Historic Landmark last month. The designation is reserved for properties that "tell stories that are of importance to the history of the entire nation, not just local communities or states," and "possess a high, not simply good, level of historic integrity."

The National Historic Landmarks Program typically considers a site for landmark status no fewer than 50 years after the site first achieved national significance. But in the case of the Kent State site, an exception was granted at the request of the university's trustees, who wanted their nomination considered in time for the 50th commemoration of the shootings in 2020.

See images from the historic protests and shootings in the video above.

Cleveland.com reporter Karen Farkas contributed to this post.

Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.