[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
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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.
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