I

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 545

To establish the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers National Historical Park in

the State of New York, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 4, 1997

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

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To establish the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers National Historical Park in the State of New York, 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 ‘‘Hudson and Mohawk

5 Rivers National Historical Park Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 As used in this Act—

8 (1) HUDSON-MOHAWK AREA.—The term ‘‘Hud9 son-Mohawk Area’’ means the area made up of the

10 cities of Troy, Cohoes, and Watervliet, the towns of
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1 Waterford and Colonie, and the villages of Water2 ford and Green Island in the State of New York.

3 (2) PARK.—The term ‘‘park’’ means the Hud4 son and Mohawk Rivers National Historical Park es5 tablished pursuant to section 4(c).

6 (3) SITES.—The term ‘‘sites’’ means the Har7 mony Mills National Historic Site and the Kate

8 Mullaney National Historic Site established by sec9 tions 4 (a) and (b), respectively.

10 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

11 the Secretary of the Interior.

12 SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

14 (1) The area of the confluence of the Hudson

15 and Mohawk Rivers in the State of New York expe16 rienced rapid growth and transformation from an

17 agrarian to an industrial area in the early 19th cen18 tury because of its geographic location, water power,

19 and human creative genius. It has been called the

20 ‘‘Birthplace of America’s Industrial Revolution’’.

21 (2) The cities and villages that make up the

22 Hudson-Mohawk area in the 19th century were com23 mercial and industrial communities that linked New

24 England’s markets with other northeastern cities

25 and Europe, and spawned the collar industry, the
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1 thriving iron and textile industries, and a diversified

2 economy.

3 (3) The transition from an agrarian to indus4 trial society within this area produced dramatically

5 different relationships between workers and employ6 ers and historically significant examples of the

7 Americanization of immigrant workers.

8 (4) The city of Troy was a leader nationally in

9 the development of trade unions with the Troy union

10 of iron molders being at one time the largest local

11 in America and the Trojan laundry workers organiz12 ing the first female union in the Nation.

13 (5) Across the Hudson River from Troy in the

14 city of Cohoes, the Harmony Mills complex, Ameri15 ca’s largest complete cotton mill in its time, made

16 Cohoes a significant example of the company town

17 pervading almost every aspect of the life of the mill

18 workers.

19 (6) As a result of the enactment of Public Law

20 102–101 calling for a national labor theme study,

21 the Harmony Mills complex and the Kate Mullaney

22 house, home of the organizer of the first female

23 union in the Nation, were nominated for National

24 Historic Landmark status.
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1 (7) This area exists today as a reservoir of his2 toric and cultural lands, waterways, and structures

3 revealing the wide diversity of individual and social

4 endeavor associated with the life of the American

5 worker that created a productive urban industrial

6 society.

7 (8) Collectively, the resources of this area pro8 vide opportunities for illustrating and interpreting

9 cultural themes of the heritage of the United States

10 and unique opportunities for education, public use

11 and enjoyment.

12 (9) The seven cities, towns, and villages making

13 up this Hudson-Mohawk area have entered into a

14 cooperative arrangement to manage their valuable

15 cultural resources, and the area has been designated

16 by the State of New York to be one of 14 urban cul17 tural parks to represent industrial development and

18 labor themes in the State’s development.

19 (10) This area, known as the Hudson-Mohawk

20 Urban Cultural Park or RiverSpark, has been a pio21 neer in the development of ‘‘partnership parks’’

22 where intergovernmental and public and private

23 partnerships bring about the conservation of its her24 itage and the attainment of goals for preservation,

25 education, recreation, and economic development.
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1 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

2 (1) to preserve and interpret for the benefit, in3 spiration, and education of the people of the United

4 States significant places illustrative and representa5 tive of the legacy of the Hudson-Mohawk area work6 ers;

7 (2) to help maintain the integrity of setting in

8 the Hudson-Mohawk area that reveals significant

9 chapters in the story of the American worker;

10 (3) through cooperative management, to coordi11 nate the interpretive, preservation, and recreational

12 efforts of Federal, State, and regional entities in the

13 Hudson-Mohawk area in order to enhance opportu14 nities for education, public use, and enjoyment; and

15 (4) to broaden public understanding of the

16 Hudson-Mohawk area and its role in American pre17 history, history, and culture.

18 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF SITES AND PARK.

19 (a) HARMONY MILLS NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.—

20 There is established, as a unit of the National Park Sys21 tem, the Harmony Mills National Historic Site consisting

22 of a portion of the Harmony Mills complex as depicted

23 on the map entitled ‘‘llll’’ and dated llll.

24 (b) KATE MULLANEY HOUSE NATIONAL HISTORIC

25 SITE.—There is established, as a unit of the National
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1 Park System, the Kate Mullaney National Historic Site

2 consisting of the home of Kate Mullaney located at 350–

3 8th Street, City of Troy, State of New York and as gen4 erally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘llll’’ and dated

5 llll.

6 (c) HUDSON AND MOHAWK RIVERS NATIONAL HIS7 TORICAL PARK.—

8 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—At such time as the

9 Secretary determines that sufficient lands, improve10 ments, and interests in lands and improvements

11 have been acquired, or at such time as the Secretary

12 has entered into cooperative agreements satisfying

13 the interpretive, preservation, and historical objec14 tives of this Act, the Secretary may establish the

15 Hudson and Mohawk Rivers National Historical

16 Park in the State of New York by publication in the

17 Federal Register of notice of the establishment and

18 a detailed description or map setting forth the lands

19 and improvements included in the park.

20 (2) INCLUDED LANDS.—The park shall consist

21 of the sites established by subsections (a) and (b).

22 (3) MAPS.—The maps referred to in this sec23 tion shall be on file and available for public inspec24 tion in appropriate offices of the National Park

25 Service, Department of the Interior.
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1 SEC. 5. ACQUISITION OF REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY

2 AND SERVICES.

3 (a) REAL PROPERTY.—The Secretary may acquire

4 the sites and such lands and improvements as are nec5 essary for the management and operation of the sites.

6 (b) PERSONAL PROPERTY.—For the purposes of the

7 park, the Secretary may acquire historic objects and arti8 facts and other personal property associated with and ap9 propriate for the interpretation of the park.

10 (c) OTHER PROPERTY, FUNDS, AND SERVICES.—For

11 the purpose of carrying out this Act, the Secretary may

12 accept donated funds, property, and services and enter

13 into cooperative agreements with the Office of Parks,

14 Recreation and Historic Preservation of the State of New

15 York, the Department of Environmental Conservation of

16 the State of New York, and other appropriate State, coun17 ty, and local entities and individuals, including the Hud18 son-Mohawk Urban Cultural Park Commission, the Hud19 son-Mohawk Industrial Gateway, the Hudson River Valley

20 Greenway Council, and other private museums and insti21 tutions.

22 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION OF PARK.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer

24 the park in accordance with this Act and all laws generally

25 applicable to national historic sites, including the Acts en26 titled ‘‘An Act to establish a National Park Service, and
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1 for other purposes’’, approved August 25, 1916 (16

2 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), and ‘‘An Act to provide for the preserva3 tion of historic American sites, buildings, objects, and an4 tiquities of national significance, and for other purposes’’,

5 approved August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.).

6 (b) PRESERVATION AND INTERPRETATION.—In ad7 ministering the park, the Secretary shall preserve and in8 terpret the site and preserve and perpetuate knowledge

9 and understanding of the park’s natural and cultural re10 sources.

11 (c) IN GENERAL.—

12 (1) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—To further

13 the purposes of this Act, the Secretary may consult

14 with and enter into cooperative agreements with the

15 State of New York and other public and private en16 tities. Each agreement shall facilitate the develop17 ment, presentation, and funding of exhibits and pro18 grams and other appropriate activities related to the

19 preservation, development, and use of the park, and

20 encourage an appreciation of the story and tradi21 tions inspired by the workers of the Hudson-Mohawk

22 area.

23 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Through agree24 ments, the Secretary may provide technical assist25 ance to cooperating entities described in paragraph
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1 (1) for the marking, interpretation, restoration,

2 preservation, or interpretation of any property listed

3 in section 4.

4 (3) INTERPRETATION AGREEMENTS.—The Sec5 retary may enter into additional cooperative agree6 ments to plan and coordinate the interpretation of

7 the cultural and natural history of the Hudson River

8 Valley region, which provides the context for relating

9 the story of the workers of the Hudson-Mohawk

10 area.

11 (d) GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the end of

13 the second fiscal year that begins after the establish14 ment of the park, the Secretary shall submit to the

15 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the

16 Senate and the Committee on Resources of the

17 House of Representatives a general management

18 plan for the sites and the park.

19 (2) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the plan,

20 the Secretary, acting through the Director of the

21 National Park Service, shall consult with advisors

22 (including representatives of cooperating entities de23 scribed in subsection (c), representatives of local and

24 municipal interests, nationally recognized historians,
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1 scholars, and other experts) concerning the interpre2 tation, preservation, and visitations of, and other is3 sues pertaining to the park and other sites of related

4 historical or scenic significance in the Hudson-Mo5 hawk area.

6 (3) STATUTORY AUTHORITIES.—The plan shall

7 be prepared in accordance with this subsection and

8 section 12(b) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to improve

9 the administration of the national park system by

10 the Secretary of the Interior, and to clarify the au11 thorities applicable to the system, and for other pur12 poses’’, approved August 18, 1970 (16 U.S.C. 1a–

13 7), and other applicable law.

14 (4) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include—

15 (A) recommendations and cost estimates

16 for the identification, marking, interpretation,

17 and preservation of properties associated with

18 the workers of the Hudson-Mohawk area to be

19 carried out through cooperative agreements and

20 other means considered appropriate and prac21 ticable;

22 (B) recommendations on ways to broaden

23 public understanding of the Hudson-Mohawk

24 and its role in American prehistory, history,

25 and culture; and
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1 (C) recommendations on ways to foster rel2 evant public education, resources preservation,

3 and appropriate levels of regional tourism.

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