( CNN ) Chicago 's historic Pullman District , a World War II internment camp and a section of Colorado 's upper Arkansas River Valley will become the nation 's newest national monuments this week , a White House official told CNN . President Barack Obama plans to make the announcement Thursday during a visit to Chicago 's Pullman town , a historic industrial site that will become the first National Park Service unit in the city , the official said . Obama is naming the sites using his authority under the Antiquities Act , which he has already used to establish or expand 16 national monuments . Since 1906 , presidents have used the act to protect other historic and natural sites across the country , including the Grand Canyon and the Statue of Liberty . Pullman National Monument , Illinois . America 's first planned industrial town , the 203-acre site within the present-day city of Chicago has factories and buildings from the Pullman Palace Car Co. , a railway car company dating to 1867 . The company town was established in the 1880s . A majority white work force constructed the famous railway cars , while a mostly black work force from the ranks of former slaves worked in service positions on the cars . Key to the rise of an African-American middle class , the porters made labor history by organizing as the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters and eventually winning a historic labor agreement . `` Pullman workers fought for fair labor conditions in the late 19th century , and the Pullman porters helped advance America 's civil rights movement , '' said Sen. Richard Durbin , D-Illinois . `` During the economic depression of the 1890s , the Pullman community was the catalyst for the first industry-wide strike in the United States , which helped lead to the creation of Labor Day as a national day . '' Honouliuli National Monument , Hawaii . Not far from Pearl Harbor , the Honouliuli Internment Camp opened in 1943 and was the longest-used and largest site for holding Japanese-Americans , European-Americans and resident immigrants in Hawaii . The internment camp , which once held captive 400 civilian internees and 4,000 prisoners of war , will be managed by the National Park Service . `` Honouliuli represents a dark period in our history when thousands of Japanese-Americans in Hawai ' i and across the country were forced into internment camps during World War II , '' Sen. Brian Schatz , D-Hawaii , said in a statement . `` This historic site will memorialize the strength and bravery of the many Japanese-Americans who faced discrimination and serve as a reminder to ourselves and future generations that we can not repeat the mistakes of the past . '' Browns Canyon National Monument , Colorado . Located in the upper Arkansas River Valley near the town of Salida , this 21,000-acre monument will protect the bighorn sheep , bald eagles and amazing diversity of wildlife and plants that inhabit the mountains and cliffs of Browns Canyon . The designation will support outdoor human activity such as hiking , hunting and fishing , protect the watershed and keep in place existing water rights and uses . The site will be managed by the Department of the Interior 's Bureau of Land Management and Department of Agriculture 's National Forest Service . `` Browns Canyon is a national treasure with a long history of bipartisan support in Colorado , '' said Sen. Cory Gardner , R-Colorado , adding that the monument will stand as a tribute to former Sen. Mark Udall 's legacy of protecting this and other Colorado sites . However , Gardner stated his preference to work through the legislative process . `` In the coming days I will be introducing legislation to ensure that Colorado 's state and local interests have a seat at the table in discussions about Browns Canyon . ''
Obama will name a Japanese internment camp a national monument . A Pullman historic town and Brown Canyon will also be named .