[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 793 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 793

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 28, 2001

 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 suitability 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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Abel and Mary Nicholson House 
National Historic Site Study Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STUDY REGARDING ABEL AND MARY NICHOLSON 
              HOUSE, ELSINBORO TOWNSHIP, SALEM COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Abel and Mary Nicholson House, located 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;
                    (B) has received only routine maintenance and no 
                major remodeling; and
                    (C) is without the intrusion 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 America.
            (6) The House and surrounding property may be available for 
        acquisition by the United States from a willing donor.
            (7) The House is one of the most significant ``first 
        period'' houses surviving in the Delaware Valley and represents 
        an architectural Rosetta stone regarding the domestic life of 
        the first two generations of settlers in the Delaware Valley.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (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 Director of the National 
        Park Service.
    (c) Study.--The Secretary shall, in consultation with the State of 
New Jersey--
            (1) carry out a study regarding the suitability and 
        feasibility of designating the House as a unit of the National 
        Park System; and
            (2) consider management alternatives for the House to 
        create an administrative association with the New Jersey 
        Coastal Heritage Trail Route.
    (d) Study Process and Completion.--Section 8(c) of Public Law 91-
383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c)) shall apply to the conduct and completion of 
the study required by this section.
    (e) Submission of Study Results.--The Secretary shall submit to the 
Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report 
describing the results of the study.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
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