A new promotional campaign for Auburn tourism is off to a good start, and we hope to see it continue to branch out.

Sure, Cayuga County has plenty of terrific attractions like lakes, trails and wineries that bring people to the area, but when it comes to getting tourists to the city, itself, promotions of this kind are needed to grab people's attention.

The many ties to history make Auburn a unique city, indeed, and the Historical and Cultural Sites Commission represents eight city attractions: Willard Memorial Chapel, Auburn Public Theater, Schine Theater, Cayuga Museum and Case Research Lab, Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, Harriet Tubman Home, Seward House and Fort Hill Cemetery.

Focusing on local history is the smart move, and now is an especially good time to be proactive in promoting our local treasures.

A major motion picture about President Abraham Lincoln's cabinet is in the works, and an influential member of that cabinet was, of course, William Seward, Lincoln's secretary of state, who spent much of his adult life in Auburn.

And efforts seem to moving along smoothly in Washington D.C. to have portions of Auburn recognized as a national park honoring Tubman. The distinction would come not only with $11 million in grants for the preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration of the local properties involved, but the National Park Service would bring about six federal interpretive staffers to Auburn, with an annual budget of $500,000 to $650,000 for personnel and maintenance costs.

The project has the potential to bring far and away more visitors than the 10,000 or so who currently visit the Harriet Tubman Home each year.

Auburn needs to continue to look ahead, but concentrating on its past is smart, too.