[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5582 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5582
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a study regarding
the suitability and feasibility of establishing the Naugatuck River
Valley National Heritage Area in Connecticut, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 18, 2014
Ms. DeLauro (for herself, Mr. Courtney, Ms. Esty, Mr. Himes, and Mr.
Larson of Connecticut) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a study regarding
the suitability and feasibility of establishing the Naugatuck River
Valley National Heritage Area in Connecticut, 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 ``Naugatuck River Valley National
Heritage Area Study Act''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STUDY REGARDING NAUGATUCK RIVER VALLEY,
CONNECTICUT.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The area that encompasses the Naugatuck River Valley of
Connecticut has made a unique contribution to the cultural,
political, and industrial development of the United States.
(2) The Naugatuck River Valley is comprised of 14
communities along the Naugatuck River, which stretches for more
than 40 miles from its headwaters in Torrington, Connecticut,
to the confluence with the Housatonic River in Shelton. The 14
municipalities of Torrington, Harwinton, Litchfield, Plymouth/
Terryville, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown, Ansonia, Beacon
Falls, Derby, Naugatuck, Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton, share
common historical elements, agricultural, trade, and maritime
origins, similar architecture, common industries, an immigrant
culture succeeding colonial beginnings, and a significant
contribution to the war effort from the Revolutionary War to
World War II. Most of these elements are still in evidence
today.
(3) Three major industries drove the manufacturing
contribution of the Valley. As evidenced in the book, The Brass
Industry in the United States, by William Lathrop, the brass
industry was born in Connecticut's Naugatuck River Valley and
harnessed the power of the Naugatuck River and the skilled
immigrant workers who arrived from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and
Poland.
(4) The Naugatuck River Valley also spawned the birth of
the rubber industry in the United States when Charles Goodyear
developed the vulcanization process in 1839. Together with
Samuel Lewis, a wealthy industrialist from Naugatuck,
Connecticut, Goodyear parlayed his innovation into establishing
the U.S. Rubber Company, making Naugatuck the rubber capital of
the world.
(5) The Naugatuck River Valley was also a major contributor
to the success of the United States clock industry. Eli Terry
designed interchangeable parts for his clocks assembled in
Terryville. Renowned clockmaker Seth Thomas began making the
first of millions of clocks in Thomaston, Connecticut, in 1813.
His company continued until 1931 when it became a division of
General Time Corporation (Timex). Other important industries
included pens, evaporated milk, pianos and organs, corset
stays, and cables.
(6) The Naugatuck River Valley has been a major contributor
to the United States war efforts from the American Revolution
to the Civil War to World War II. In the 2007 PBS film ``The
War'', the story of World War II directed and produced by Ken
Burns and Lynn Novick, the City of Waterbury, Connecticut, was
characterized as the ``arsenal'' of the war effort because of
its high concentration of war industries.
(7) The Naugatuck River Valley has been home to many great
authors, diplomats, inventors and patriots, such as David
Humphreys, Aide-de-Camp to General George Washington and the
first American ambassador; Commodore Isaac Hull, Commander of
``Old Ironsides'' during the War of 1812; Ebenezer D. Bassett,
the country's first black ambassador; Dr. John Howe, inventor
of a pin making machine that made the common pin a household
necessity; and Pierre Lallement, inventor of the modern two-
wheel bicycle.
(8) The Naugatuck River Valley possesses a rich and diverse
assemblage of architecturally significant civic, industrial and
residential structures and monuments dating from Colonial times
to the present. There are 88 structures in the Naugatuck Valley
included on the National Register of Historic Places. The first
law school in America was built in Litchfield. Notable examples
of the variety of architecture found in the Valley include
Robert Wakeman Hill's brilliantly designed Thomaston Opera
House and Town Hall; H.E. Ficken's acoustically impressive
Sterling Opera House in Derby, site of appearances by many
nationally known performers; Waterbury's Clock Tower, designed
by the renowned architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White which
also designed four buildings in Naugatuck; Henry Bacon,
designer of the Lincoln Memorial and two structures in
Naugatuck; and the Father McGivney Statue cast by Joseph
Coletti of Boston to honor the Waterburian who founded the
Knights of Columbus.
(9) The Naugatuck River Valley has been a melting pot for
immigrant populations who have made significant contributions
to the industrial, cultural, and economic development of the
nation.
(10) In 2011, the Naugatuck River Greenway was designated
one of 101 projects nationwide selected by the Secretary of the
Interior under the America's Great Outdoors Initiative. This
multi-sector partnership aims to restore and enhance the river
by completing the Naugatuck River Greenway, creating new public
access to the river, and opening fish passages on the river.
(11) The Naugatuck River Valley possesses a group of
public-spirited citizens dedicated to the preservation and
promotion of the region's natural, historic, and cultural
heritage, and a passionate resolve to work together for the
betterment of the Valley and its residents.
(b) Study.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall, in
consultation with the State of Connecticut and appropriate
organizations, carry out a study regarding the suitability and
feasibility of establishing the Naugatuck River Valley National
Heritage Area in Connecticut.
(2) Contents.--The study shall include analysis and
documentation regarding whether the Study Area--
(A) has an assemblage of natural, historic, and
cultural resources that together represent distinctive
aspects of American heritage worthy of recognition,
conservation, interpretation, and continuing use, and
are best managed through partnerships among public and
private entities and by combining diverse and sometimes
noncontiguous resources and active communities;
(B) reflects traditions, customs, beliefs, and
folklife that are a valuable part of the national
story;
(C) provides outstanding opportunities to conserve
natural, historic, cultural, or scenic features;
(D) provides outstanding recreational and
educational opportunities;
(E) contains resources important to the identified
theme or themes of the Study Area that retain a degree
of integrity capable of supporting interpretation;
(F) includes residents, business interests,
nonprofit organizations, and local and State
governments that are involved in the planning, have
developed a conceptual financial plan that outlines the
roles for all participants, including the Federal
Government, and have demonstrated support for the
concept of a national heritage area;
(G) has a potential management entity to work in
partnership with residents, business interests,
nonprofit organizations, and local and State
governments to develop a national heritage area
consistent with continued local and State economic
activity; and
(H) has a conceptual boundary map that is supported
by the public.
(c) Boundaries of the Study Area.--The Study Area shall be
comprised of sites in Torrington, Harwinton, Litchfield, Plymouth/
Terryville, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown, Ansonia, Beacon Falls,
Derby, Naugatuck, Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton, Connecticut.
(d) Submission of Study Results.--Not later than 3 years after
funds are first made available for this section, the Secretary shall
submit to the Committee on Natural 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.
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