[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5558 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5558
To establish the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial National Historical
Park in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 19, 2023
Mr. Bost introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial National Historical
Park in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Prairie du Rocher and the French Colonial Historic
District are the finest historical and architectural examples
of French Colonial Heritage in the United States.
(2) Kaskaskia, Fort de Chartres, and Prairie du Rocher once
served as the western boundary of the United States.
(3) The 1752 French census documents that Kaskaskia had a
population of 275 White people, 246 Blacks, 75 Indians, and 77
mixed blood (Indian and white ancestry) making it a multi-
ethnic community. Enslaved people from Africa began arriving in
Kaskaskia by 1720 with skills as blacksmiths, joiners, masons,
etc., precisely the skills needed to build the 1759 Fort of
Kaskaskia.
(4) Fort de Chartres was erected in 1720 by France and is
one of France's most imposing fortifications in North America.
It was the administrative center in the era of French Colonial
control over Louisiana and the Illinois Country. On October 9,
1960, the Fort was declared a National Historic Landmark.
(5) The Powder Magazine at Fort de Chartres is the oldest
stone building in the State of Illinois.
(6) The Guard House at Fort de Chartres contains a Catholic
chapel furnished in the style of the 1750s, along with a
priest's room, a gunner's room, an officer-of-the-day room, and
a guard's room. Missionary Father Pierre Gibault taught and
ministered to the settlers and Native Americans.
(7) The King of France made land concessions to certain
entrepreneurs that evolved into villages. The Village of
Chartres was proximate to Fort de Chartres.
(8) The Mitchigamea or Michigamea were a tribe in the
Illinois Confederation who established a village north of Fort
de Chartres. One of their villages in the American Bottom,
inhabited from 1730 until 1752, is one of the region's premier
archaeological sites; it is known as the ``Kolmer Site''.
(9) In 1763, Pierre Laclede Liguest quartered in the
Prairie du Rocher French Colonial District where he planned the
new village of St. Louis which he established in February of
1764.
(10) On July 4, 1778, General George Rogers Clark, with the
assistance of Father Pierre Gibault, captured Prairie du Rocher
and the Village of Kaskaskia.
(11) On November 28, 1803, Meriwether Lewis and William
Clark visited the Village of Kaskaskia, seeking Engages and
troops to accompany them on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
(12) Recently an American Fort was discovered that dates to
1803-1806. The site is next to the Garrison Hill Cemetery.
(13) In 1818, Kaskaskia served as the first State Capital
of Illinois.
(14) In 1825, General Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert
du Montier de Lafayette visited the Village of Kaskaskia.
(15) In 1876, the religious order, the Adorers of the Blood
of Christ (ASC), established a convent near Prairie du Rocher
in rural Ruma to minister to the region through education and
religious instruction in southwestern Illinois. The health care
needs of the people led the Sisters to also create and operate
hospitals. Since 1877 the Sisters staffed schools at the
request of Pastors. By 1938 their staffing helped to open
schools in 103 towns. They also served in other outreach
ministries throughout the region. The ASC Convent was built in
1876. It was expanded in 1890 and enlarged again in 1925. The
entire complex was updated in 1980. It served as an educational
institution and later a high school that even offered 30 hours
of college credit from St. Louis University.
(16) The ASC convent site contains a memorial to and the
remains of five martyred nuns who ministered in Liberia, West
Africa in 1992. ASC Sisters had served there since 1971.
(17) On January 20, 1961, the Modoc Rock Shelter was
declared a National Historic Landmark.
(18) In 1973, the Creole House in Prairie du Rocher was
added to the National Registry of Historic Places.
(19) In 1974, Prairie du Rocher and the French Colonial
Historic District, an area of 22 square miles, was created and
added to the National Registry of Historic Places, along with
the ancient Kolmer Indian site.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) recognize the importance of Prairie du Rocher and the
French Colonial Historic District as a nationally significant
architectural village of the cultural heritage of the United
States;
(2) establish a Prairie du Rocher French Colonial National
Historical Park to serve as the focus of interpretive and
educational programs on the history of the French Colonial
Historic District, and to assist in the preservation of
historic sites within the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial
Historic District;
(3) recognize the contribution of religious women in the
development of the country through their missions and their
intrinsic desire to better the lives of people through
education, health, and social services, and other ministries
and in particular southwestern Illinois; and
(4) recognize the existence and contribution of the early
enslaved African Americans, Indians and mixed bloods at
Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher for their skills as
blacksmiths, joiners, and masons, etc.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRAIRIE DU ROCHER FRENCH COLONIAL NATIONAL
HISTORICAL PARK.
(a) In General.--In order to assist in the preservation and
interpretation of, and education concerning, of Prairie du Rocher, the
French Colonial Historic District, the contribution of religious women
to the development of our country and the existence of a multi-ethnic
community that was Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher and to provide
technical assistance to a broad range of public and private landowners
and preservation organizations, there is hereby established the Prairie
du Rocher French Colonial National Historical Park in the State of
Illinois.
(b) Area Included.--The historical park shall consist of lands and
interests therein as follows:
(1) Lands and structures associated with--
(A) Fort de Chartres, France's most imposing
fortifications in North America, and surrounding
adjacent land including the Kolmer Site, the Village of
Chartres and Pierre Laclede Home site;
(B) the Creole House (1800), a French creole
vernacular post in ground (poteaux-sur-sol)
construction--one of only five remaining in the United
States;
(C) the Pierre Menard Home (1803), Menard was the
first Lieutenant Governor of Illinois;
(D) the Doiron Bienvenue House, post in ground
(poteaux-sur-sol) construction (1860);
(E) the ASC Convent, built in 1876 and updated in
1980, including an education wing, and surrounding
structures and adjacent parcels; and
(F) a portion of the Fort Kaskaskia State Historic
Site, a 200-acre park, which celebrates the vanished
frontier Village of Kaskaskia, is home to the earthen
remains of Fort Kaskaskia, and preserves Garrison Hill
Cemetery, where Pierre Menard and dozens of veterans
are interred.
SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION; MANAGEMENT.
(a) Administration.--The Secretary shall administer the historical
park in accordance with this title and with provisions of law generally
applicable to units of the National Park System, including--
(1) section 100502 of title 54, United States Code; and
(2) chapter 3201 of title 54, United States Code.
(b) Management.--The Secretary shall manage the historical park in
such a manner as will preserve resources and cultural landscapes
relating to the history of the historic district and to enhance public
understanding of the important cultural heritage of the historic
district.
SEC. 4. INTERPRETIVE VISITOR CENTER COMPLEX.
(a) In General.--
(1) Construction; lease.--The Secretary is authorized to
acquire the ASC convent and surrounding structures to operate
and to maintain an interpretive visitor center complex,
conference center, and lodging facilities in the convent, to
provide for the general information and orientation needs of
the historical park and the historic district and serve the
needs of the historical park. The ASC facility also includes a
house to serve as the residence for the Park Superintendent.
(2) Consultation.--When the planning and development of the
ASC Convent as the interpretive visitor center complex, the
Secretary shall consult with--
(A) the State of Illinois;
(B) Randolph County;
(C) the Village of Prairie du Rocher; and
(D) the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
(b) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary is authorized to enter
into cooperative agreements for the development of the interpretive
visitor center complex, educational programs, and other materials to
facilitate public use of the historical park and historic district
with--
(1) the State of Illinois;
(2) Randolph County;
(3) the Village of Prairie du Rocher; and
(4) the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
SEC. 5. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.
(a) General Authority.--Except as otherwise provided in this
section, the Secretary is authorized to acquire lands and interests
therein within the boundaries of the historical park by donation,
purchase with donated or appropriated funds, and exchange.
(b) State and Local Properties.--Lands and interests therein that
are owned by the State of Illinois, or any political subdivision
thereof, may be acquired only by donation or exchange.
SEC. 6. DONATIONS.
The Secretary may accept and retain donations of funds, property,
or services from individuals, foundations, or other public or private
entities for the purposes of providing programs, services, facilities,
or technical assistance that further the purposes of this Act. Any
funds donated to the Secretary pursuant to this section may be expended
without further appropriation.
SEC. 7. GRANT ASSISTANCE.
The Secretary is authorized to make grants to park partners for
projects not requiring Federal involvement other than providing
financial assistance, subject to the availability of appropriations in
advance identifying the specific grantee and the specific project.
Projects funded through grants under this section shall--
(1) be used only for construction and development on non-
Federal property within the boundaries of the historic
district;
(2) support the purposes of the historical park; and
(3) enhance public use and enjoyment of the historical
park.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Historic district.--The term ``historic district''
means the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial Historic District
listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
(2) Historical park.--The term ``historical park'' means
the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial National Historical Park
established by section 2(a).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
<all>