[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 23, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S314-S315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DOLE:
  S. 1521. A bill to establish the Nicodemus National Historic Site in 
Kansas, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources.


            the nicodemus national historic site act of 1996

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, time, it is said, is the savior and nemesis 
of history. The savior because it is the very passage of time that 
creates history. The nemesis because that same passage of time 
obliterates history. Today, in Nicodemus, KS, a community is waging a 
losing battle against time. To bolster them in that fight, I am 
introducing legislation that would establish Nicodemus, KS, as a 
national historic site.
  Kansas is not the first place that comes to mind when people think of 
the Civil War and reconstruction, but we Kansans know that Kansas is to 
the Civil War what Sarajevo was to World War I. Border ruffians, the 
sack of Lawrence, John Brown, and the Pottawatomie massacre are as 
familiar to Kansas schoolchildren as Fort Sumter and Gettysburg. The 
guerrilla war that rent bleeding Kansas was the opening skirmish in the 
armed conflict between abolitionist and slaveholder that ended at 
Appomattox.
  Even less well known is that out of that bitter struggle emerged a 
period of hope for the newly emancipated. During the 1870's, Kansas was 
the scene of a great migration of southern blacks seeking their fortune 
in what some African-American leaders described as 

[[Page S315]]
the promised land. One of the most important settlements founded during 
that time was Nicodemus. From sod burrows carved out of the prairie by 
the original colonists, Nicodemus flourished into a leading center of 
black culture and society through the turn of the century.
  Today, a cluster of five buildings is all that remains of that once 
vibrant community. National historic landmark status has not halted the 
gradual decay of this monument to the struggle of African-Americans for 
freedom and equality. In fact, in its report entitled ``Nicodemus, 
Kansas Special Resource Study,'' the National Park Service indicated 
that ``[i]f Nicodemus is not protected and preserved by a public or 
private entity, it seems inevitable that the historic structures will 
continue to deteriorate and eventually be razed.'' It was that finding 
that prompted my legislation granting the town of Nicodemus, KS, 
national historic site status.
  It is my hope that colleagues will join me in working to save this 
unique piece of American history.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1521

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) the town of Nicodemus, in Kansas, has national 
     significance as the only remaining western town established 
     by African-Americans during the Reconstruction period 
     following the Civil War;
       (2) the town of Nicodemus is symbolic of the pioneer spirit 
     of African-Americans who dared to leave the only region they 
     had been familiar with to seek personal freedom and the 
     opportunity to develop their talents and capabilities; and
       (3) the town of Nicodemus continues to be a viable African-
     American community.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit and 
     enjoyment of present and future generations, the remaining 
     structures and locations that represent the history 
     (including the settlement and growth) of the town of 
     Nicodemus, Kansas; and
       (2) to interpret the historical role of the town of 
     Nicodemus in the Reconstruction period in the context of the 
     experience of westward expansion in the United States.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Historic site.--The term ``historic site'' means the 
     Nicodemus National Historic Site established by section 3.
       (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.

     SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NICODEMUS NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.

       (a) Establishment.--There is established the Nicodemus 
     National Historic Site in Nicodemus, Kansas.
       (b) Description.--
       (1) In general.--The historic site shall consist of the 
     First Baptist Church, the St. Francis Hotel, the Nicodemus 
     School District Number 1, the African Methodist Episcopal 
     Church, and the Township Hall located within the 
     approximately 161.35 acres designated as the Nicodemus 
     National Landmark in the Township of Nicodemus, Graham 
     County, Kansas, as registered on the National Register of 
     Historic Places pursuant to section 101 of the National 
     Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470a), and depicted on a 
     map entitled ``Nicodemus National Historic Site'', numbered 
     80,000 and dated August 1994.
       (2) Map and boundary description.--The map referred to in 
     paragraph (1) and an accompanying boundary description shall 
     be on file and available for public inspection in the office 
     of the Director of the National Park Service and any other 
     office of the National Park Service that the Secretary 
     determines to be an appropriate location for filing the map 
     and boundary description.

     SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION OF THE HISTORIC SITE.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer the 
     historic site in accordance with--
       (1) this Act; and
       (2) the provisions of law generally applicable to units of 
     the National Park System, including the Act entitled ``An Act 
     to establish a National Park Service, and for other 
     purposes'', approved August 25, 1916 (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), 
     and the Act of August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 666, chapter 593; 16 
     U.S.C. 461 et seq.).
       (b) Cooperative Agreements.--To further the purposes 
     specified in section 1(b), the Secretary may enter into a 
     cooperative agreement with any interested individual, public 
     or private agency, organization, or institution.
       (c) Technical and Preservation Assistance.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary may provide to any eligible 
     person described in paragraph (2) technical assistance for 
     the preservation of historic structures of, the maintenance 
     of the cultural landscape of, and local preservation planning 
     for, the historic site.
       (2) Eligible persons.--The eligible persons described in 
     this paragraph are--
       (A) an owner of real property within the boundary of the 
     historic site, as described in section 3(b); and
       (B) any interested individual, agency, organization, or 
     institution that has entered into an agreement with the 
     Secretary pursuant to subsection (b).

     SEC. 5. ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY.

       (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary 
     is authorized to acquire by donation, exchange, or purchase 
     with funds made available by donation or appropriation, such 
     lands or interests in lands as may be necessary to allow for 
     the interpretation, preservation, or restoration of the First 
     Baptist Church, the St. Francis Hotel, the Nicodemus School 
     District Number 1, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, or 
     the Township Hall, as described in section 3(b)(1), or any 
     combination thereof.
       (b) Limitations.--
       (1) Acquisition of property owned by the state of kansas.--
     Real property that is owned by the State of Kansas or a 
     political subdivision of the State of Kansas that is acquired 
     pursuant to subsection (a) may only be acquired by donation.
       (2) Consent of owner required.--No real property may be 
     acquired under this section without the consent of the owner 
     of the real property.

     SEC. 6. GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.

       (a) In General.--Not later than the last day of the third 
     full fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the 
     officials described in subsection (b), prepare a general 
     management plan for the historic site.
       (b) Consultation.--In preparing the general management 
     plan, the Secretary shall consult with an appropriate 
     official of each of the following:
       (1) The Nicodemus Historical Society.
       (2) The Kansas Historical Society.
       (3) Appropriate political subdivisions of the State of 
     Kansas that have jurisdiction over all or a portion of the 
     historic site.
       (c) Submission of Plan to Congress.--Upon the completion of 
     the general management plan, the Secretary shall submit a 
     copy of the plan to--
       (1) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
     Senate; and
       (2) the Committee on Resources of the House of 
     Representatives.

     SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department 
     of the Interior such sums as are necessary to carry out this 
     Act.
                                 ______