I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3893 

To establish the First State National Historical Park in the State of 

Delaware, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 21, 2009 

Mr. CASTLE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the First State National Historical Park in 

the State of Delaware, 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 ‘‘First State National 

5 Historical Park Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the State of Delaware contains a collection 

9 of nationally significant resources relating to— 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3893 IH

1 (A) the early succession of the Dutch, 

2 Swedish, and English settlement of the United 

3 States; and 

4 (B) the period leading up to the role of 

5 Delaware as the first State to ratify the Con6 stitution on December 7, 1787; 

7 (2) among the resources relating to the early 

8 settlement of the United States are— 

9 (A) National Historic Landmarks in Wil10 mington, Delaware, including— 

11 (i) the site of Fort Christina, which 

12 was— 

13 (I) constructed in 1638 by colo14 nists led by Peter Minuet to be the 

15 focal point of New Sweden; and 

16 (II) the first Swedish settlement 

17 in North America; and 

18 (ii) Old Swedes Church, which is the 

19 oldest church building still standing as 

20 originally built; 

21 (B) historic sites in New Castle, Delaware, 

22 including— 

23 (i) Fort Casimir, which was con24 structed by the Dutch in 1651; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3893 IH

1 (ii) the New Castle Historic District, 

2 which is the location of an assemblage of 

3 resources associated with Dutch, Swedish, 

4 and English settlement of the State; and 

5 (C) the Lewes Historic District in Lewes, 

6 Delaware, which— 

7 (i) is listed on the National Register 

8 of Historic Places; 

9 (ii) was a significant location for early 

10 Dutch settlement and early nationhood; 

11 (iii) is the oldest town formed in Dela12 ware; and 

13 (iv) contains Ryves Holt House, 

14 which— 

15 (I) was built in 1665; and 

16 (II) is the oldest building still 

17 standing in the State; 

18 (3) among the nationally significant resources 

19 relating to the period of English settlement and the 

20 birth of the United States are a collection of re21 sources in New Castle, Delaware, including— 

22 (A) the Old New Castle Courthouse, which 

23 served as the capitol of the colony until 1777; 

24 and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3893 IH

1 (B) other National Historic Landmarks, 

2 including— 

3 (i) the home of John Dickinson, who 

4 is known as the ‘‘Penman of the Revolu5 tion’’; 

6 (ii) the Jacob Broom House, which 

7 was the home of Jacob Broom, delegate to 

8 the Constitutional Convention; 

9 (iii) Lombardy Hall, which was the 

10 home of Gunning Bedford, Jr., delegate to 

11 the Constitutional Convention; and 

12 (iv) Stonum, which was the home of 

13 George Read, who was— 

14 (I) a delegate to the Constitu15 tional Convention; and 

16 (II) an advocate of the early rati17 fication of the Constitution by the 

18 State of Delaware; 

19 (4) Dover Green, laid out in 1717 in accordance 

20 with the 1683 orders of William Penn, was the site 

21 at which Delaware— 

22 (A) voted to ratify the Constitution; 

23 (B) mustered a Continental Regiment dur24 ing the Revolution; and 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3893 IH

1 (C) celebrated the reading of the Declara2 tion of Independence in 1776; 

3 (5) the State Archives in Dover, Delaware, con4 tains records and documents of persons and events 

5 that contribute to public knowledge and under6 standing of— 

7 (A) the period of the early settlement of 

8 Delaware; and 

9 (B) the role of Delaware as the First 

10 State; 

11 (6) the Zwaanendael Museum in Lewes, Dela12 ware— 

13 (A) commemorates the founding of the 

14 first European settlement in the State by the 

15 Dutch in 1631; and 

16 (B) provides exhibits and information on 

17 the maritime, social, and military history of the 

18 Lewes area; and 

19 (7) it is fitting and proper that the resources 

20 described in this subsection be recognized through 

21 the establishment of the first unit of the National 

22 Park System in the State of Delaware so that the 

23 public may better understand and appreciate the 

24 contributions of those resources to the history of the 

25 United States. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3893 IH

1 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab2 lish the First State National Historical Park to preserve, 

3 protect, and promote public understanding and apprecia4 tion of— 

5 (1) the cultural and historic resources associ6 ated with early Dutch, Swedish, and English settle7 ment in Delaware; and 

8 (2) the events, places, and persons associated 

9 with the role of Delaware as the ‘‘First State’’. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en13 titled ‘‘First State National Historical Park–Pro14 posed Boundary’’, numbered øllll¿, and dated 

15 ølllll¿. 

16 (2) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the First 

17 State National Historical Park established by sec18 tion 4(a). 

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

20 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

22 of Delaware. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3893 IH

1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FIRST STATE NATIONAL 

2 HISTORICAL PARK. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

4 State a unit of the National Park System to be known 

5 as the ‘‘First State National Historical Park’’. 

6 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Park is to pre7 serve, protect, and interpret— 

8 (1) the historic and cultural resources associ9 ated with Dutch, Swedish, and English settlement in 

10 the State; and 

11 (2) the resources associated with the role of the 

12 State as the first State to ratify the Constitution. 

13 (c) BOUNDARIES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Park shall be comprised 

15 of the following, as generally depicted on the map: 

16 (A) The New Castle Historic District. 

17 (B) Fort Christina. 

18 (C) The Old Swedes Church. 

19 (D) The John Dickinson Plantation. 

20 (E) Lombardy Hall. 

21 (F) Stonum. 

22 (G) The Lewes Historic District. 

23 (H) The Dover Green. 

24 (2) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be 

25 available for public inspection in the appropriate of26 fices of the National Park Service. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 3893 IH

1 (3) HEADQUARTERS.—The headquarters for 

2 the Park shall be in the City of New Castle, Dela3 ware. 

4 (d) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—The Secretary may ac5 quire land or interests in land within the boundaries of 

6 the Park by— 

7 (1) donation; 

8 (2) purchase from willing sellers with donated 

9 or appropriated funds; or 

10 (3) exchange. 

11 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall admin12 ister the Park in accordance with— 

13 (1) this Act; and 

14 (2) the laws generally applicable to units of the 

15 National Park System, including— 

16 (A) the National Park Service Organic Act 

17 (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and 

18 (B) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 

19 461 et seq.). 

20 (f) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Sub21 ject to the availability of funds under section 6(a), the Sec22 retary may provide grants and technical assistance to, and 

23 to enter into cooperative agreements with— 

24 (1) the State, political subdivisions of the State 

25 (including the cities of Wilmington, New Castle, 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 3893 IH

1 Dover, and Lewes, Delaware), nonprofit organiza2 tions, and private property owners for— 

3 (A) the development, management, and op4 eration of visitor service facilities, subject to the 

5 non-Federal entity agreeing to provide the Na6 tional Park Service, at no extra cost, with suffi7 cient office space and exhibition areas to carry 

8 out the purposes of the Park within the facili9 ties; 

10 (B) historic preservation of, research on, 

11 and interpretation of properties within the 

12 boundary of the Park, including research on the 

13 archaeology of the Park; 

14 (C) public access; 

15 (D) educational programs; and 

16 (E) signage and interpretive devices on 

17 properties and sites within the Park for inter18 pretive purposes; and 

19 (2) the State Archives located in Dover, Dela20 ware, and the Zwaanandael Museum located in 

21 Lewes, Delaware, for research and exhibits relating 

22 to the purposes of the Park. 

23 (g) INTERPRETATION.—The Secretary may provide 

24 interpretive tours to historic sites within the State located 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 3893 IH

1 outside the boundaries of the Park that include resources 

2 relating to— 

3 (1) early Dutch, Swedish, and English settle4 ment; and 

5 (2) the period leading up to the role of the 

6 State as the first State to ratify the Constitution. 

7 (h) GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 

8 3 years after the date on which funds are made available 

9 to carry out this subsection, the Secretary, in coordination 

10 with the State and in consultation with owners of prop11 erties within the boundaries of the Park, shall prepare a 

12 general management plan for the Park in accordance with 

13 section 12(b) of Public Law 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 1a–7(b)). 

14 SEC. 5. STUDY OF ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

16 date on which funds are made available under section 6(a), 

17 the Secretary shall complete a study regarding the preser18 vation and interpretation of additional properties in the 

19 State that relate to the purposes described in section 4(b). 

20 (b) INCLUSIONS.—The study shall include an assess21 ment of— 

22 (1) the potential for designating the properties 

23 as National Historic Landmarks; and 

24 (2) options for maintaining the historic integ25 rity of the properties. 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 3893 IH

1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act, 

4 including— 

5 (1) $3,000,000 for grants to the State, political 

6 subdivisions of the State, and nonprofit organiza7 tions for the rehabilitation of existing structures to 

8 serve as administrative and visitor services facilities 

9 for the Park; and 

10 (2) $2,500,000 for grants to the State, political 

11 subdivisions of the State, private property owners, 

12 and nonprofit organizations for— 

13 (A) the historic preservation and restora14 tion of resources within the boundary of the 

15 Park; and 

16 (B) the costs of design, construction, in17 stallation, and maintenance of any exhibits re18 lating to the Park. 

19 (b) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

21 cost of activities under paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

22 subsection (a) shall be not more than 50 percent. 

23 (2) FORM.—The non-Federal share required 

24 under paragraph (1) may be in the form of in-kind 

25 contributions of goods or services fairly valued. 

Æ 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS