I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5399
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasi-
bility of designating the Abel and Mary Nicholson House located in
Elsinboro Township, Salem County, New Jersey, as a unit of the Na-
tional Park System, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 5, 2000
Mr. LOBIONDO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suit-
ability and feasibility of designating the Abel and Mary
Nicholson House located in Elsinboro Township, Salem
County, New Jersey, as a unit of the National Park
System, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Abel and Mary Nichol-
son House National Historic Site Study Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) the Abel and Mary Nicholson House, lo-
cated in Elsinboro Township, Salem County, New
Jersey, was built in 1722;
(2) the original section of the House is the only
pristine, surviving portion of a Delaware Valley brick
patterned-end house featuring a diaper or diamond
pattern in glazed bricks in the gable wall of the
building, and less elaborate decorations of checkered
string courses on the other 3 walls;
(3) the original section of the House—
(A) contains early paint, original hinges,
locks, shelving, floorboards, roof framing, and
chimneypieces; and
(B) has received only routine maintenance
and no major remodeling, and is without the in-
trusion of either electricity or a central heating
system;
(4) the 1859 addition to the House enhances
the significance of the property with a similar level
of architectural integrity;
(5) the House has well-documented associations
with the earliest Quaker settlement in North Amer-
ica;
(6) the House and surrounding property may
be available for acquisition from a willing donor; and
(7) the House is—
(A) 1 of the most significant ‘‘first period’’
houses surviving in the Delaware Valley; and
(B) an architectural Rosetta stone on the
domestic life of the first 2 generations of set-
tlers in the Delaware Valley.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) HOUSE.—The term ‘‘House’’ means the
Abel and Mary Nicholson House located in Elsinboro
Township, Salem County, New Jersey.
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di-
rector of the National Park Service.
SEC. 4. STUDY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the
date on which funds are made available to carry out this
Act, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the State of
New Jersey—
(1) carry out a study on the suitability and fea-
sibility of designating the House as a unit of the Na-
tional Park System;
(2) consider management alternatives to create
an administrative association with the New Jersey
Coastal Heritage Trail Route; and
(3) submit to the Committee on Resources of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a re-
port describing the findings of the study.
(b) CONTENTS.—The study under subsection (a)
shall be conducted in accordance with Public Law 91–383
(16 U.S.C. 1a–1 et seq.).
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as are necessary to carry out this Act.
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