[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 71 (Tuesday, April 23, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E382]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        INTRODUCTION OF THE ROCK CREEK NATIONAL PARK ACT OF 2024

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 23, 2024

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce a bill to redesignate the 
United States-owned Rock Creek Park in the District of Columbia as 
``Rock Creek National Park.'' Redesignating this park will highlight 
its significance to the Nation, including visitors to the Nation's 
capital, and will help bring much-needed funding for the park's 
inviting trails, waterways, and other unique features.
  Rock Creek Park is already a ``national'' park, as it was established 
by Congress in 1890 ``for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of 
the United States.'' Rock Creek Park was the first federally managed 
urban park and the third federal park ever created, after Yellowstone 
and Sequoia. Rock Creek Park was designed to preserve animals, timber, 
forestry, and other interests in the park, and to ensure that its 
natural state is maintained as much as possible not only for D.C. 
residents, but for all Americans. The park also preserves the ancient 
history of the land, as it was used for temporary settlements and as a 
quarry for weapons and tools by Native Americans from 7000 BCE until 
the 1600s.
  Since Congress first designated Rock Creek Park, several structures 
and properties have been established or donated to further preserve 
Rock Creek Park, creating a vast connected park area that falls under a 
central National Park Service jurisdiction. In 1892, the federal 
government acquired Peirce Mill in Rock Creek Park, one of the mills 
used by local farmers during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. In 
1950, the Old Stone House located in Georgetown, with its pre-
Revolutionary War architecture, was acquired by the park. The building 
was restored and programs explain the house's rich history from the 
colonial period to the present day. The Fort Circle Parks were also 
acquired to interpret and preserve the Civil War Defenses of 
Washington, which created a ring of protection for the Nation's capital 
during the Civil War. The Carter Barron Amphitheater, established in 
honor of the 150th anniversary of the Nation's capital, became an 
integral part of D.C.'s live music scene, and has featured acts 
including Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Ross, and Earth, Wind and Fire, as 
well as local artists. The redesignated ``Rock Creek National Park'' 
would encompass these later additions to the park.
  Today, Rock Creek Park offers residents of D.C., Maryland, and 
Northern Virginia, as well as visitors, an escape from our increasingly 
urban environment. Residents and tourists alike enjoy many activities 
in the park's 2,000 acres, including hiking and biking on the trails, 
horseback riding, picnicking, tennis, and other recreational activities 
in some of the open fields. Our residents have expressed their 
appreciation by volunteering to clean up and maintain the forests, 
trails, and waterways.
  In 1918, landscape architects John Charles Olmstead and Frederick Law 
Olmstead, Jr. wrote of Rock Creek Park, ``No matter how perfect the 
scenery of the park may be or may become, no matter how high its 
potential value, that value remains potential except insofar as it is 
enjoyed by large and ever larger numbers of people, poor and rich 
alike,'' Redesignating Rock Creek Park as Rock Creek National Park will 
help recognize the national status of the park and protect and 
revitalize this remarkable resource in our Nation's capital.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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