II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2865 

To establish the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial National Historical Park 

in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 

Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial National 

Historical Park in the State of Illinois, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prairie du Rocher 

5 French Colonial National Historical Park Establishment 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) Prairie du Rocher and the French Colonial 

2 Historic District are the finest historical and archi3 tectural examples of French colonial heritage in the 

4 United States; 

5 (2) Kaskaskia, Fort de Chartres, and Prairie 

6 du Rocher once served as the western boundary of 

7 the United States; 

8 (3) the 1752 French census documents that 

9 Kaskaskia was a multi-ethnic community, with a 

10 population of— 

11 (A) 275 White people; 

12 (B) 246 Black people; 

13 (C) 75 Indian people; and 

14 (D) 77 people of mixed blood (White and 

15 Indian ancestry); 

16 (4) enslaved people from Africa began arriving 

17 in Kaskaskia by 1720 with the skills needed to build 

18 the Fort of Kaskaskia in 1759, such as blacksmiths, 

19 joiners, and masons; 

20 (5) Fort de Chartres was— 

21 (A) erected in 1720 by France; 

22 (B) one of the most imposing French for23 tifications in North America; 


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1 (C) the administrative center in the era of 

2 French colonial control over Louisiana and the 

3 Illinois country; and 

4 (D) designated as a National Historic 

5 Landmark on October 9, 1960; 

6 (6) the powder magazine at Fort de Chartres is 

7 the oldest stone building in the State; 

8 (7) the guard house at Fort de Chartres con9 tains— 

10 (A) a Catholic chapel furnished in the style 

11 of the 1750s; 

12 (B) a priest’s room; 

13 (C) a gunner’s room; 

14 (D) an officer-of-the-day room; and 

15 (E) a guard’s room; 

16 (8) missionary Father Pierre Gibault taught 

17 and ministered to the settlers and Native Americans 

18 at the guard house at Fort de Chartres; 

19 (9) the King of France made land concessions 

20 to certain entrepreneurs that evolved into villages, 

21 including the village of Chartres, which was located 

22 close to Fort de Chartres; 

23 (10) the Mitchigamea, or Michigamea, was an 

24 Indian Tribe in the Illinois Confederation that estab25 lished a village north of Fort de Chartres, including 


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1 a village in the American Bottom, inhabited from 

2 1730 to 1752, which is one of the premier archae3 ological sites in the region, known as the ‘‘Kolmer 

4 Site’’; 

5 (11) in 1763, Pierre Laclede Liguest quartered 

6 in the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial District, 

7 planning the new village of St. Louis, which Liguest 

8 established in February 1764; 

9 (12) on July 4, 1778, General George Rogers 

10 Clark, with the assistance of Father Pierre Gibault, 

11 captured Prairie du Rocher and the village of 

12 Kaskaskia; 

13 (13) on November 28, 1803, Meriwether Lewis 

14 and William Clark visited the village of Kaskaskia 

15 seeking boatmen and troops to accompany the Lewis 

16 and Clark expedition; 

17 (14) a United States fort located next to the 

18 Garrison Hill Cemetery was recently discovered that 

19 dates from 1803 to 1806; 

20 (15) in 1818, the village of Kaskaskia served as 

21 the first State capital of Illinois; 

22 (16) in 1825, General Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves23 Roch-Gilbert du Montier de Lafayette visited the vil24 lage of Kaskaskia; 


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1 (17) in 1876, a religious order, known as the 

2 ‘‘Adorers of the Blood of Christ’’, established a con3 vent near Prairie du Rocher in rural Ruma to min4 ister to the people of southwestern Illinois through 

5 education and religious instruction; 

6 (18) in addition, the health care needs of the 

7 people led the Sisters of the Adorers of the Blood of 

8 Christ to create and operate hospitals; 

9 (19) since 1877, the Sisters of the Adorers of 

10 the Blood of Christ have staffed schools at the re11 quest of pastors; 

12 (20) by 1938, the staffing of the Sisters of the 

13 Adorers of the Blood of Christ at schools helped to 

14 open schools in 103 towns; 

15 (21) the Sisters of the Adorers of the Blood of 

16 Christ also served in other outreach ministries 

17 throughout the region; 

18 (22) the convent of the Adorers of the Blood of 

19 Christ— 

20 (A) was built in 1876; 

21 (B) was expanded in 1890 and 1925; 

22 (C) was updated in 1980; 

23 (D) served as— 

24 (i) an educational institution; and 


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1 (ii) a high school that offered 30 

2 hours of college credit from St. Louis Uni3 versity; and 

4 (E) contains a memorial to, and the re5 mains of, 5 martyred nuns who ministered in 

6 Liberia in 1992; 

7 (23) Sisters of the Adorers of the Blood of 

8 Christ convent had been serving in Liberia since 

9 1971; 

10 (24) on January 20, 1961, the Modoc Rock 

11 Shelter was declared a National Historic Landmark; 

12 (25) in 1973, the Creole House in Prairie du 

13 Rocher was added to the National Register of His14 toric Places; and 

15 (26) in 1974, Prairie du Rocher and the 

16 French Colonial Historic District, which is an area 

17 of 22 square miles, was added to the National Reg18 ister of Historic Places, along with the ancient 

19 Kolmer Indian site. 

20 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

21 (1) to recognize the importance of Prairie du 

22 Rocher and the French Colonial Historic District as 

23 a nationally significant architectural village that em24 bodies the cultural heritage of the United States; 


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1 (2) to establish the Prairie du Rocher French 

2 Colonial National Historical Park— 

3 (A) to serve as the focus of interpretive 

4 and educational programs relating to the his5 tory of the French Colonial Historic District; 

6 and 

7 (B) to assist in the preservation of historic 

8 sites within the French Colonial Historic Dis9 trict; 

10 (3) to recognize the contribution of religious 

11 women in the development of the United States 

12 through the missions and intrinsic desire of the reli13 gious women to improve the lives of people through 

14 education, health, social services, and other min15 istries, with an emphasis on the contributions of 

16 such women in southwestern Illinois; and 

17 (4) to recognize the existence and contribution 

18 of the early enslaved African Americans, Native 

19 Americans, and people of mixed ancestry at 

20 Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher for their skills as 

21 blacksmiths, joiners, and masons. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) HISTORIC DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘Historic 

25 District’’ means the Prairie du Rocher and the 


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1 French Colonial Historic District, which is listed on 

2 the National Register of Historic Places. 

3 (2) HISTORICAL PARK.—The term ‘‘Historical 

4 Park’’ means the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial 

5 National Historical Park established by section 4(a). 

6 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

7 the Secretary of the Interior. 

8 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

9 of Illinois. 

10 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRAIRIE DU ROCHER 

11 FRENCH COLONIAL NATIONAL HISTORICAL 

12 PARK. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—To assist in the preservation and 

14 interpretation of, and education relating to, the Historic 

15 District, the contribution of religious women to the devel16 opment of the United States, and the multi-ethnic commu17 nity that was Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher, and to 

18 provide technical assistance to a broad range of public and 

19 private landowners and preservation organizations, there 

20 is established in the State the Prairie du Rocher French 

21 Colonial National Historical Park. 

22 (b) AREA INCLUDED.—The Historical Park shall 

23 consist of the following: 

24 (1) Land and structures associated with Fort 

25 de Chartres and surrounding adjacent land, includVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Sep 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2865.IS S2865

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1 ing the Kolmer Site, the village of Chartres, and the 

2 site of the home of Pierre Laclede. 

3 (2) The Creole House, which is a French creole 

4 vernacular post-in-ground or ‘‘poteaux-sur-sol’’ 

5 structure constructed in 1800, 1 of only 5 remaining 

6 in the United States. 

7 (3) The home of Pierre Menard, the first Lieu8 tenant Governor of the State, which was constructed 

9 in 1803. 

10 (4) Land and structures associated with the 

11 Doiron Bienvenue House, which is a post-in-ground 

12 structure constructed in 1860. 

13 (5) The Adorers of the Blood of Christ convent, 

14 which was originally built in 1876 and updated in 

15 1980, including an education wing and surrounding 

16 structures and adjacent parcels. 

17 (6) A portion of the Fort Kaskaskia State His18 toric Site, which— 

19 (A) is a 200-acre park that celebrates the 

20 vanished frontier village of Kaskaskia; 

21 (B) is home to the earthen remains of Fort 

22 Kaskaskia; and 

23 (C) preserves Garrison Hill Cemetery, at 

24 which Pierre Menard and dozens of veterans 

25 are interred. 


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1 (c) MAP.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

4 shall prepare a map depicting the boundaries of the 

5 Historical Park. 

6 (2) AVAILABILITY.—The map prepared under 

7 paragraph (1) shall be available for public inspection 

8 in the appropriate offices of the National Park Serv9 ice. 

10 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION. 

11 The Secretary shall administer the Historical Park— 

12 (1) in accordance with— 

13 (A) this Act; and 

14 (B) the provisions of law generally applica15 ble to units of the National Park System, in16 cluding section 100502 and chapter 3021 of 

17 title 54, United States Code; and 

18 (2) in a manner that— 

19 (A) preserves resources and cultural land20 scapes relating to the history of the Historic 

21 District; and 

22 (B) enhances public understanding of the 

23 important cultural heritage of the Historic Dis24 trict. 


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1 SEC. 6. INTERPRETIVE VISITOR CENTER COMPLEX. 

2 (a) ACQUISITION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may acquire 

4 the Adorers of the Blood of Christ convent and sur5 rounding structures— 

6 (A) to operate and maintain an interpre7 tive visitor center complex, conference center, 

8 and lodging facilities; 

9 (B) to provide for the general information 

10 and orientation needs of the Historical Park 

11 and the Historic District; 

12 (C) to serve the needs of the Historical 

13 Park; and 

14 (D) to serve as a residence for the Super15 intendent of the Historical Park, as appro16 priate. 

17 (2) CONSULTATION.—For purposes of the plan18 ning and development of the interpretive visitor cen19 ter complex authorized for acquisition under para20 graph (1), the Secretary shall consult with— 

21 (A) the State; 

22 (B) Randolph County, Illinois; 

23 (C) the village of Prairie du Rocher; and 

24 (D) the State Department of Natural Re25 sources. 


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1 (b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

2 may enter into cooperative agreements with the entities 

3 described in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) for the devel4 opment of— 

5 (1) the interpretive visitor center complex au6 thorized under paragraph (1) of that subsection; and 

7 (2) educational programs and materials to fa8 cilitate the public use of the Historical Park and the 

9 Historic District. 

10 SEC. 7. ACQUISITION OF LAND. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

12 (b), the Secretary may acquire land and interests in land 

13 within the boundaries of the Historical Park by— 

14 (1) donation; 

15 (2) purchase with donated or appropriated 

16 funds; or 

17 (3) exchange. 

18 (b) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 

19 land and interests in land that are owned by the State 

20 or any political subdivision of the State may be acquired 

21 for the Historical Park under that subsection only by do22 nation or exchange. 

23 SEC. 8. DONATIONS. 

24 (a) ACCEPTANCE.—The Secretary may accept dona25 tions of funds, property, or services from individuals, founVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Sep 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2865.IS S2865

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1 dations, or other public or private entities for the purposes 

2 of providing programs, services, facilities, and technical 

3 assistance that further the purposes of this Act. 

4 (b) EXPENDITURE.—Any funds donated to the Sec5 retary under subsection (a) may be expended by the Sec6 retary without further appropriation. 

7 SEC. 9. GRANT ASSISTANCE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap9 propriations, the Secretary may make grants to partners 

10 of the Historical Park for eligible projects described in 

11 subsection (b). 

12 (b) DESCRIPTION OF ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—An eli13 gible project referred to in subsection (a) is a project— 

14 (1) that does not require Federal involvement 

15 other than the provision of financial assistance; 

16 (2) for the construction and development of 

17 non-Federal land and structures within the bound18 aries of the Historic District; 

19 (3) that support the purposes of the Historical 

20 Park; and 

21 (4) that enhances public use and enjoyment of 

22 the Historical Park. 

Æ 


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