[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 119 (Thursday, September 10, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10208-S10209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. TORRICELLI (for himself and Mr. Lautenberg):
  S. 2458. A bill to amend the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the 
creation of the Morristown National Historical Park in the State of New 
Jersey, and for other purposes'' to authorize the acquisition of 
property known as the ``Warren Property''; to the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources.


            morristown national historical park legislation

  Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, today with Senator Lautenberg I 
introduce legislation to preserve land on which our nation was forged. 
During the harsh winter of 1779-1780 the Continental Army, and its 
leader, General George Washington camped at Morristown, New Jersey.
  Washington chose Morristown for its logistical, geographical, and 
topographical advantages and also because of its close proximity to 
British-occupied New York City. Washington and his men encountered 
great hardships here, as the winter of 1779 was the worst winter here 
in over 100 years.
  When soldiers first arrived at Morristown, they had no choice but to 
sleep out in the open snow as it took most about two to three weeks to 
build wooden huts to hold groups of a dozen men. The last of the 
Continental Army, however, did not move into the huts until the middle 
of February, and conditions were so bad that many soldiers stole 
regularly to eat, deserted, or mutinied. Only the leadership of General 
Washington held the Continental Army intact, enabling him to plot the 
strategy for the coming spring that would turn the tide of the war.
  Through the preservation of this site, we honor the men who served at 
Morristown and fought for our independence. And more than that, we 
preserve the best classroom imaginable to understand how our nation was 
born.
  Recognizing the importance of this site, Congress created the 
Morristown National Historical Park in 1933, the first historical 
national park in the National Park System.
  In the years since the establishment of the park, however, New Jersey 
has undergone a revolution of another sort: from Garden State to 
Suburban State. In 1959, there were 15,000 farms in New Jersey covering 
1.4 million acres. Today, there are 9,000 farms on 847,000 acres, a 40% 
decrease. In New Jersey, as much as 10,000 acres of rural land is being 
developed every year.
  North-central New Jersey and the area around the park has not been 
spared from this development. Much of the private land adjacent to the 
park has been subdivided and developed for residential use. Many of 
these residences are visible from park areas, altering the rural 
character of the park and diminishing the visitor's experience of the 
park's historic landscape.
  The legislation we are introducing today will help preserve the 
natural environment of the Park by authorizing the Park Service to 
expand the boundary of the park to include the 15-acre Warren property 
on Mt. Kemble Ridge. Specifically, our legislation authorizes the 
Secretary of the Interior to acquire through purchase, purchase with 
appropriated funds, or donation, the Warren Property. This acquisition 
will prevent this land, where patriots made their camp during the 
winter of 1779-1780, from being re-zoned and subdivided for residential 
development.
  The National Park Service strongly supports this legislation. NPS 
Deputy Director, Denis Galvin, recently testified in support of 
legislation to acquire the Warren Property before a House National 
Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee hearing on March 26, 1998. This 
important parcel of land has been classified as ``desirable for 
acquisition'' by the National Park Service since 1976.
  In addition, the property's owner, Jim Warren, is a willing seller 
and interested in seeing the property preserved as part of Morristown 
National Historical Park. Acquisition of the Warren Property for 
inclusion in the park would ensure that the character of the park's 
historic landscape is not further degraded.
  Unfortunately, there are historic sites in my home state of New 
Jersey and across our country that need to be preserved. It is my hope 
that through this effort, the Morristown National Historical Park and 
sites like it across the country will be preserved for generations to 
come so that the history of our country and its guiding principles will 
remain alive in the hearts of all Americans.
 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, today I wanted to announce that 
I am cosponsoring legislation authorizing the National Park Service to 
acquire and add lands to the Morristown National Historical Park. The 
Morristown National Historical Park is an important Revolutionary War 
site and this bill would authorize the Park Service to acquire lands 
from a willing seller to prevent the encroachment of modern residential 
and commercial development in an effort to preserve the visitor's 
experience of the park's historic landscape and enable the park to 
retain its rural character.
  The Morristown National Historical Park was established in 1933 and 
hosts approximately 550,000 visitors a year. The park preserves the 
sites that were occupied by General George Washington and the 
Continental Army during this critical period where he held together, 
during desperate times, the small, ragged army that represented the 
country's main hope for independence. General Washington chose the area 
for its logistical, geographical, and topographical military 
advantages, in addition to its proximity to New York City, which was 
occupied by the British in 1779. The site proposed for acquisition 
would be a 15 acre parcel near the Jockey Hollow Encampment Area of the 
park and prevent further degradation of the parks vistas.
  I invite my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation 
which will ensure that an important historical site for New Jersey and 
the nation is protected.

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