[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5558 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5558

To establish the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial National Historical 
         Park in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 19, 2023

   Mr. Bost introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial National Historical 
         Park in the State of Illinois, 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. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Prairie du Rocher and the French Colonial Historic 
        District are the finest historical and architectural examples 
        of French Colonial Heritage in the United States.
            (2) Kaskaskia, Fort de Chartres, and Prairie du Rocher once 
        served as the western boundary of the United States.
            (3) The 1752 French census documents that Kaskaskia had a 
        population of 275 White people, 246 Blacks, 75 Indians, and 77 
        mixed blood (Indian and white ancestry) making it a multi-
        ethnic community. Enslaved people from Africa began arriving in 
        Kaskaskia by 1720 with skills as blacksmiths, joiners, masons, 
        etc., precisely the skills needed to build the 1759 Fort of 
        Kaskaskia.
            (4) Fort de Chartres was erected in 1720 by France and is 
        one of France's most imposing fortifications in North America. 
        It was the administrative center in the era of French Colonial 
        control over Louisiana and the Illinois Country. On October 9, 
        1960, the Fort was declared a National Historic Landmark.
            (5) The Powder Magazine at Fort de Chartres is the oldest 
        stone building in the State of Illinois.
            (6) The Guard House at Fort de Chartres contains a Catholic 
        chapel furnished in the style of the 1750s, along with a 
        priest's room, a gunner's room, an officer-of-the-day room, and 
        a guard's room. Missionary Father Pierre Gibault taught and 
        ministered to the settlers and Native Americans.
            (7) The King of France made land concessions to certain 
        entrepreneurs that evolved into villages. The Village of 
        Chartres was proximate to Fort de Chartres.
            (8) The Mitchigamea or Michigamea were a tribe in the 
        Illinois Confederation who established a village north of Fort 
        de Chartres. One of their villages in the American Bottom, 
        inhabited from 1730 until 1752, is one of the region's premier 
        archaeological sites; it is known as the ``Kolmer Site''.
            (9) In 1763, Pierre Laclede Liguest quartered in the 
        Prairie du Rocher French Colonial District where he planned the 
        new village of St. Louis which he established in February of 
        1764.
            (10) On July 4, 1778, General George Rogers Clark, with the 
        assistance of Father Pierre Gibault, captured Prairie du Rocher 
        and the Village of Kaskaskia.
            (11) On November 28, 1803, Meriwether Lewis and William 
        Clark visited the Village of Kaskaskia, seeking Engages and 
        troops to accompany them on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
            (12) Recently an American Fort was discovered that dates to 
        1803-1806. The site is next to the Garrison Hill Cemetery.
            (13) In 1818, Kaskaskia served as the first State Capital 
        of Illinois.
            (14) In 1825, General Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert 
        du Montier de Lafayette visited the Village of Kaskaskia.
            (15) In 1876, the religious order, the Adorers of the Blood 
        of Christ (ASC), established a convent near Prairie du Rocher 
        in rural Ruma to minister to the region through education and 
        religious instruction in southwestern Illinois. The health care 
        needs of the people led the Sisters to also create and operate 
        hospitals. Since 1877 the Sisters staffed schools at the 
        request of Pastors. By 1938 their staffing helped to open 
        schools in 103 towns. They also served in other outreach 
        ministries throughout the region. The ASC Convent was built in 
        1876. It was expanded in 1890 and enlarged again in 1925. The 
        entire complex was updated in 1980. It served as an educational 
        institution and later a high school that even offered 30 hours 
        of college credit from St. Louis University.
            (16) The ASC convent site contains a memorial to and the 
        remains of five martyred nuns who ministered in Liberia, West 
        Africa in 1992. ASC Sisters had served there since 1971.
            (17) On January 20, 1961, the Modoc Rock Shelter was 
        declared a National Historic Landmark.
            (18) In 1973, the Creole House in Prairie du Rocher was 
        added to the National Registry of Historic Places.
            (19) In 1974, Prairie du Rocher and the French Colonial 
        Historic District, an area of 22 square miles, was created and 
        added to the National Registry of Historic Places, along with 
        the ancient Kolmer Indian site.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) recognize the importance of Prairie du Rocher and the 
        French Colonial Historic District as a nationally significant 
        architectural village of the cultural heritage of the United 
        States;
            (2) establish a Prairie du Rocher French Colonial National 
        Historical Park to serve as the focus of interpretive and 
        educational programs on the history of the French Colonial 
        Historic District, and to assist in the preservation of 
        historic sites within the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial 
        Historic District;
            (3) recognize the contribution of religious women in the 
        development of the country through their missions and their 
        intrinsic desire to better the lives of people through 
        education, health, and social services, and other ministries 
        and in particular southwestern Illinois; and
            (4) recognize the existence and contribution of the early 
        enslaved African Americans, Indians and mixed bloods at 
        Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher for their skills as 
        blacksmiths, joiners, and masons, etc.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRAIRIE DU ROCHER FRENCH COLONIAL NATIONAL 
              HISTORICAL PARK.

    (a) In General.--In order to assist in the preservation and 
interpretation of, and education concerning, of Prairie du Rocher, the 
French Colonial Historic District, the contribution of religious women 
to the development of our country and the existence of a multi-ethnic 
community that was Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher and to provide 
technical assistance to a broad range of public and private landowners 
and preservation organizations, there is hereby established the Prairie 
du Rocher French Colonial National Historical Park in the State of 
Illinois.
    (b) Area Included.--The historical park shall consist of lands and 
interests therein as follows:
            (1) Lands and structures associated with--
                    (A) Fort de Chartres, France's most imposing 
                fortifications in North America, and surrounding 
                adjacent land including the Kolmer Site, the Village of 
                Chartres and Pierre Laclede Home site;
                    (B) the Creole House (1800), a French creole 
                vernacular post in ground (poteaux-sur-sol) 
                construction--one of only five remaining in the United 
                States;
                    (C) the Pierre Menard Home (1803), Menard was the 
                first Lieutenant Governor of Illinois;
                    (D) the Doiron Bienvenue House, post in ground 
                (poteaux-sur-sol) construction (1860);
                    (E) the ASC Convent, built in 1876 and updated in 
                1980, including an education wing, and surrounding 
                structures and adjacent parcels; and
                    (F) a portion of the Fort Kaskaskia State Historic 
                Site, a 200-acre park, which celebrates the vanished 
                frontier Village of Kaskaskia, is home to the earthen 
                remains of Fort Kaskaskia, and preserves Garrison Hill 
                Cemetery, where Pierre Menard and dozens of veterans 
                are interred.

SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION; MANAGEMENT.

    (a) Administration.--The Secretary shall administer the historical 
park in accordance with this title and with provisions of law generally 
applicable to units of the National Park System, including--
            (1) section 100502 of title 54, United States Code; and
            (2) chapter 3201 of title 54, United States Code.
    (b) Management.--The Secretary shall manage the historical park in 
such a manner as will preserve resources and cultural landscapes 
relating to the history of the historic district and to enhance public 
understanding of the important cultural heritage of the historic 
district.

SEC. 4. INTERPRETIVE VISITOR CENTER COMPLEX.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Construction; lease.--The Secretary is authorized to 
        acquire the ASC convent and surrounding structures to operate 
        and to maintain an interpretive visitor center complex, 
        conference center, and lodging facilities in the convent, to 
        provide for the general information and orientation needs of 
        the historical park and the historic district and serve the 
        needs of the historical park. The ASC facility also includes a 
        house to serve as the residence for the Park Superintendent.
            (2) Consultation.--When the planning and development of the 
        ASC Convent as the interpretive visitor center complex, the 
        Secretary shall consult with--
                    (A) the State of Illinois;
                    (B) Randolph County;
                    (C) the Village of Prairie du Rocher; and
                    (D) the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
    (b) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary is authorized to enter 
into cooperative agreements for the development of the interpretive 
visitor center complex, educational programs, and other materials to 
facilitate public use of the historical park and historic district 
with--
            (1) the State of Illinois;
            (2) Randolph County;
            (3) the Village of Prairie du Rocher; and
            (4) the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

SEC. 5. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.

    (a) General Authority.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
section, the Secretary is authorized to acquire lands and interests 
therein within the boundaries of the historical park by donation, 
purchase with donated or appropriated funds, and exchange.
    (b) State and Local Properties.--Lands and interests therein that 
are owned by the State of Illinois, or any political subdivision 
thereof, may be acquired only by donation or exchange.

SEC. 6. DONATIONS.

    The Secretary may accept and retain donations of funds, property, 
or services from individuals, foundations, or other public or private 
entities for the purposes of providing programs, services, facilities, 
or technical assistance that further the purposes of this Act. Any 
funds donated to the Secretary pursuant to this section may be expended 
without further appropriation.

SEC. 7. GRANT ASSISTANCE.

    The Secretary is authorized to make grants to park partners for 
projects not requiring Federal involvement other than providing 
financial assistance, subject to the availability of appropriations in 
advance identifying the specific grantee and the specific project. 
Projects funded through grants under this section shall--
            (1) be used only for construction and development on non-
        Federal property within the boundaries of the historic 
        district;
            (2) support the purposes of the historical park; and
            (3) enhance public use and enjoyment of the historical 
        park.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Historic district.--The term ``historic district'' 
        means the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial Historic District 
        listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
            (2) Historical park.--The term ``historical park'' means 
        the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial National Historical Park 
        established by section 2(a).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
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