[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 105 (Wednesday, September 8, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S8959]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      IN RECOGNITION OF SENATOR CARPER'S NATIONAL PARKS COMMITTEE

 Mr. CARPER. Madam President, today I give thanks to the 
members of my National Parks Committee in Delaware for all of their 
efforts, time, and dedication in attempting to establish a national 
park in Delaware.
  Delaware is the only State that does not have a national park, 
national monument, national historic site or any other unit of the 
National Park Service. It is through the hard work of the members of 
this committee that we have narrowed down the search in recommending 
the first national park in the First State.
  I began the process of trying to establish a national park in 2002. 
My staff and I took suggestions from the public via surveys, a web 
poll, and phone calls. We received hundreds of responses, and 
suggestions ranged from Fort DuPont to Cape Henlopen State Park to the 
Underground Railroad to the World War II Towers. After several months 
of hearing what the public recommended, I established the National 
Parks Committee in 2003.
  The committee was comprised of 12 people, including Dr. James Soles, 
the head of the committee, Dr. Wilma Mishoe, Ms. Norma Lee Derrickson, 
the Honorable John Schroeder, Mr. O. Francis Biondi, Mr. Ernst 
Dannemann, Dr. Linda Johnson-Gilliam, Ms. Jane Richter, Ms. Maria 
Matos, Mr. Ruly Carpenter, Mr. Bill Powers and Mr. Edwin Mongan III. 
For several months, the members met and discussed extensively each of 
the suggestions offered by the public. They held workshops in each 
county whereby the public could attend, participate and offer 
suggestions. They took a tour of the proposed sites to determine which 
location would make the best national park.
  After months of deliberation, the committee came to its final 
recommendation: the creation of ``The Delaware National Coastal 
Heritage Park.'' This National Park would memorialize the rich and 
diverse history of Delaware's coastal areas, bringing that history and 
related attractions into sharp focus for area residents and visitors 
alike.
  This park would be unique among national parks in both its physical 
dimensions and its theme. Physically, the park would be comprised of a 
series of four interpretive centers. The centers would largely direct 
visitors to already existing attractions related to the theme of the 
park--that is that Delaware's coastal region is comprised of a series 
of historic, cultural and natural interwoven threads that hold great 
significance in the history of both Delaware and the United States.
  The concept of the unit recognizes that Delaware's coastal region is 
a near perfect microcosm of America's coastal regions and that they 
have always played a key role in human activity. It recognizes that the 
fabric that makes up our Nation is in turn made up of many threads of 
human and natural activity and that most of those threads have their 
origins in coastal regions like Delaware's.
  In the First State, these threads start with the development of the 
earliest human settlers in the area and run through to some of the most 
sophisticated human activities of modern times. Among the most 
significant are the history of the first European settlers in the 
Delaware Valley who built Fort Christina in 1638, the development of 
coastal defenses from the beaches of Cape Henlopen on the Atlantic 
Ocean to Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River and, the successful 
operation of the Underground Railroad, by which thousands of enslaved 
Africans found their way to freedom along Delaware's ocean, bay and 
river coastline. Other threads include: the history of the Native 
American tribes such as the Lenni Lenape in what is now Delaware, the 
arrival of the Finns and the Swedes at the Rocks in Wilmington, the 
increased influence of the English and Dutch as European immigration 
grew, the development of transportation and commerce along the same 
waterways starting with the earliest explorers and extending to today's 
ultra modern Port of Wilmington, the expansion of modern industry 
including the early gunpowder factories of Irenee DuPont, the rise of 
the chemical industry and today's two modern auto assembly plants and 
the credit card giants that dominate Wilmington's skyline, Delaware's 
significant contributions to the development of our constitutional 
republic, including Delaware's historic vote at the Golden Fleece 
Tavern in Dover to ratify the Constitution of 1787, making it the first 
State to do so, and the beautiful and ecologically important natural 
areas along the coast that are already preserved as wildlife refuges.
  These threads will be highlighted and showcased in a format unique to 
the National Park system. The park will be structured much like a 
series of four bicycle wheels, each with a hub and spokes. The hubs 
will be interpretive centers located strategically along the coast 
line. The spokes will be the multitude of attractions and sites that 
relate to the various threads described above.
  The ``gateway'' or ``headquarters'' hub will be located on the 7th 
Street Peninsula at the site of the original Fort Christina. Within a 
short walking distance of the existing Fort Christina State Park is the 
Old Swedes Church, the oldest Episcopal Church in America in continuous 
use; the Kalmar Nyckel, a replica of the ship that carried early Swedes 
to our shores; Tubman-Garrett Park, located at a point in Wilmington 
where escaping slaves swam across the Christina River as part of their 
journey on the Underground Railroad, and other attractions. As a hub, 
it would provide information, recommendations and directions about 
other sites in the Wilmington area that relate to the threads of the 
coastal region.
  A second hub would be located in the City of New Castle. It would 
provide information on attractions in the city's renowned historic 
district as well as related attractions in New Castle County such as 
Fort Delaware State Park on Pea Patch Island and Old St. Anne's 
Episcopal Church in Middletown, originally founded in 1705.
  A third would be located in Kent County, along the coast of the 
Delaware River. It would provide information on the existing preserved 
natural areas such as Bombay Hook and on the myriad other attractions 
in Kent County that are integral parts of the threads highlighted by 
the park. These would include the John Dickinson Mansion, Dover's 
historic Green and others.
  The fourth and final hub would be located in the Lewes area and would 
provide information on the numerous historic sites and natural areas 
that have made Sussex County's coastal region so pivotal to Delaware. 
These would include the Zwaanendael Museum, the Fenwick Lighthouse, and 
the Georgetown County Courthouse.
  Together, these four interpretative centers would direct visitors to 
the many existing attractions that help us understand and appreciate 
the entire fabric of our society, a fabric woven from the many threads 
of Delaware's coastal region.
  It is through the dedication and hard work of these sixteen members 
that this park is even a possibility. Each of the members took time out 
of their busy lives to help with this important project marking 
Delaware's history. I thank them, along with several members of my 
staff, for all their hard work and congratulate them on a job well 
done.

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