HR-319 Officially Approved by House Resources Committee and Moves to Full House for Consideration

Four-State Historic Region One Step Closer to Becoming Nation’s 38th National Heritage Area 

Waterford, Virginia – The bill to establish the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area scored a major victory today when it was considered and approved by voice vote to move out of the House Resources Committee and to the full House for consideration. 

“This is a positive first step forward in the important initiative to promote what is perhaps the most historically significant area in the United States.” Said Frank Wolf, R-VA, the bill’s lead sponsor in the House of Representatives.

“The bill was officially moved from committee with favorable reporting,” said Cate Magennis Wyatt, President, The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership. “This is a major victory for all the citizens of this historic region who have worked tirelessly to support this proposed National Heritage Area.”

Bipartisan legislation was introduced in the Senate and in the House during the opening days of the 110th Congress that, if passed, would designate the 175-mile corridor encompassing many historic lands in four states along U.S. Route 15, including Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, a National Heritage Area.

Frank Wolf, R-VA., introduced the Journey Through Hallowed Ground bill (HR.319) in the House of Representatives in the opening hours of the new congress with co-sponsorship from his House colleagues: Representatives Eric I. Cantor, R-VA; Jo Anne Davis, R-VA; Tom Davis, R-VA;  Shelley Moore Capito R-WV; Bobby Scott, D-VA; Todd R. Platts, R-PA; James P. Moran, D-VA; Jim McCrery, R-LA ;Ted Poe, R-TX; Mark Souder, R-IN; Dutch Ruppersberger, D-MD; Alcee Hastings, D-FL; Albert Wynn, D-MD; Jim Saxton, R-NJ; Rick Boucher, D-VA; Chris Van Hollen, D-MD, and John Sarbanes, D-MD.

“America’s history can literally be traced along this corridor,” Wolf said. “The Monroe Doctrine, the Marshall Plan and the Camp David Accords were penned right there in our backyard.”

“The proposed Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area would be one of the nation’s most historic,” said Kat Imhoff, Chairman of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Board of Trustees and Vice President, Thomas Jefferson Foundation.  “If enacted, this National Heritage Area would benefit the region’s citizenry, the region’s economic prospects and shine a national spotlight on the lessons of American leadership that are told through the history of the region.”

Generally following the path of the Old Carolina Road (today’s Route 15/20/231), the “Journey Through Hallowed Ground” area is home to considerable historic, cultural, and natural treasures such as Monticello, Montpelier, Manassas, and Gettysburg.  The area encompasses eight Presidential homes or sites, 15 National Historic Landmarks, the Jeffersonian World Heritage Site which includes Monticello and the University of Virginia, 47 historic districts, with a significant number of Revolutionary War sites and the largest collection of Civil War battlefields in America.

“We are enormously grateful for the leadership of Congressman Wolf and Senator Warner, both of whom have shown steadfast support in response to the request of over 150 partnering organizations, landowners and businesses to seek the honorary recognition this region deserves,” said Wyatt.

Now introduced in the Senate as S.289, the legislation has been referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for consideration.  A hearing has been scheduled for March 20, 2007.

The bill was first introduced in the House and Senate last April but not enacted before the 109th Congress adjourned in December.

The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership is a public–private organization dedicated to raising national awareness of the heritage and cultural resources along the US Route 15 corridor, often referred to as the Old Carolina Road, from Gettysburg, Pa., to Monticello, Va.  The Journey Through Hallowed Ground is Where America Happened – a corridor that holds more American history than any other swath of land in the United States.