Latest news with #NationalHistorical
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Could there be a new US national park? Georgia lawmakers push for designation
A bipartisan group of more than a dozen lawmakers are hoping to establish the next new national park in central Georgia. That's the proposal in a bill currently making its way through Congress, led by House Reps. Austin Scott (R-GA) and Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., (D-GA) and supported by an additional seven Republicans and four Democrats from the state. If passed, it would expand the existing Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, making it the first newly established national park and preserve in the country in more than five years. "We believe the designation, from National Historical Park to National Park, is necessary to meet the importance of this landscape, to telling the story of the American identity," said Seth Clark, executive director of the non-profit Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative. "This area was the capital city of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and there's evidence of 17,000 years of continuous history here." The Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, located in Macon, Georgia, is the ancestral homeland of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. It would anchor the proposed new national park and preserve, and involve the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in management of the land, according to the bill's text. Clark told USA TODAY it would be the first park management of its kind involving a removed tribe, referring to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's forced removal starting in 1836 from their homelands to Oklahoma, via what is now known as the Muscogee Trail of Tears. The state's two U.S. senators., Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, have introduced their own version of the bill in the Senate. More: Macon's Ocmulgee Mounds may become the first National Park and Preserve in Georgia What are the Ocmulgee Mounds? The area has been inhabited continuously by humans for thousands of years, according to the National Park Service, and showcases one of the country's best preserved Native American and pre-Columbian sites, the Ocmulgee Mounds. The mounds are estimated to have been built around around 900 CE by the Muskogean people, and were used for meeting, living, burial, agriculture and other purposes, the park says. Several of these mounds remain today, and are a leading attraction for visitors, along with its extensive museum and eight miles of outdoor trails. During the Civil War, it was the sight of two conflicts: the Battle of Dunlap Hill and the Battle of Walnut Creek. "By establishing the Ocmulgee Mounds as Georgia's first National Park and Preserve, we are highlighting over 17,000 years of history and culture as well as welcoming people from across the country to enjoy Georgia's natural beauty,' Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA) said in a March statement reintroducing the bill. Every September, the park hosts the Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration to celebrate Southeastern Native American culture, according to Macon's tourism website, and holds a Lantern Light Tour in the spring coinciding with the city's popular cherry blossom festival. Bill would turn Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park to a National Park The U.S. has 63 national parks, and if the proposal goes through, Ocmulgee would become the Peach State's very first National Park and Preserve. The National Park Service oversees 433 total units of land, such as battlefields, memorials, monuments, preserves, scenic rivers and other cultural and environmental sites, including the Ocmulgee mounds. Changes in designations of these lands falls to Congress. The bill would drop the "historical" part of Omulgee's current name, Clark said, and is focused on expanding it to include national preserve land that is not currently part of the park. It would be set aside for recreational activities and preservation, such as hiking, fishing and hunting and connect to the Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. In total, non-profit organization helping with the effort, Trust for Public Land, said it would creating a sprawling 23,000-acre park along the Ocmulgee River stretching up to 20 miles downstream of the Macon city limit. The National Park Service told USA TODAY it does not comment on pending legislation. Clark said the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative is pushing for the establishment of the new park by the end of 2025. Contributing: Miguel Legoas, USA TODAY Network Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@ and on X @KathrynPlmr. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The next national park could be in Georgia: Here's where Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
09-07-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Could there be a new US national park? Georgia lawmakers push for designation
A bipartisan group of more than a dozen lawmakers are hoping to establish the next new national park in central Georgia. That's the proposal in a bill currently making its way through Congress, led by House Reps. Austin Scott (R-GA) and Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., (D-GA) and supported by an additional seven Republicans and four Democrats from the state. If passed, it would expand the existing Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, making it the first newly established national park and preserve in the country in more than five years. "We believe the designation, from National Historical Park to National Park, is necessary to meet the importance of this landscape, to telling the story of the American identity," said Seth Clark, executive director of the non-profit Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative. "This area was the capital city of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and there's evidence of 17,000 years of continuous history here." The Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, located in Macon, Georgia, is the ancestral homeland of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. It would anchor the proposed new national park and preserve, and involve the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in management of the land, according to the bill's text. Clark told USA TODAY it would be the first park management of its kind involving a removed tribe, referring to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's forced removal starting in 1836 from their homelands to Oklahoma, via what is now known as the Muscogee Trail of Tears. The state's two U.S. senators., Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, have introduced their own version of the bill in the Senate. More: Macon's Ocmulgee Mounds may become the first National Park and Preserve in Georgia What are the Ocmulgee Mounds? The area has been inhabited continuously by humans for thousands of years, according to the National Park Service, and showcases one of the country's best preserved Native American and pre-Columbian sites, the Ocmulgee Mounds. The mounds are estimated to have been built around around 900 CE by the Muskogean people, and were used for meeting, living, burial, agriculture and other purposes, the park says. Several of these mounds remain today, and are a leading attraction for visitors, along with its extensive museum and eight miles of outdoor trails. During the Civil War, it was the sight of two conflicts: the Battle of Dunlap Hill and the Battle of Walnut Creek. "By establishing the Ocmulgee Mounds as Georgia's first National Park and Preserve, we are highlighting over 17,000 years of history and culture as well as welcoming people from across the country to enjoy Georgia's natural beauty,' Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA) said in a March statement reintroducing the bill. Every September, the park hosts the Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration to celebrate Southeastern Native American culture, according to Macon's tourism website, and holds a Lantern Light Tour in the spring coinciding with the city's popular cherry blossom festival. Bill would turn Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park to a National Park The U.S. has 63 national parks, and if the proposal goes through, Ocmulgee would become the Peach State's very first National Park and Preserve. The National Park Service oversees 433 total units of land, such as battlefields, memorials, monuments, preserves, scenic rivers and other cultural and environmental sites, including the Ocmulgee mounds. Changes in designations of these lands falls to Congress. The bill would drop the "historical" part of Omulgee's current name, Clark said, and is focused on expanding it to include national preserve land that is not currently part of the park. It would be set aside for recreational activities and preservation, such as hiking, fishing and hunting and connect to the Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. In total, non-profit organization helping with the effort, Trust for Public Land, said it would creating a sprawling 23,000-acre park along the Ocmulgee River stretching up to 20 miles downstream of the Macon city limit. The National Park Service told USA TODAY it does not comment on pending legislation. Clark said the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative is pushing for the establishment of the new park by the end of 2025. Contributing: Miguel Legoas, USA TODAY Network Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@ and on X @KathrynPlmr.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Smith County Courthouse demolition erases black history, local resident says
SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KETK) – As the nation celebrates Black History Month, Larry Wade reflects on the profound loss his family experienced when his great-grandfather died on the steps of the Smith County Courthouse. Wade's great-grandfather, John Henry Ervin, who had been fighting to keep his family's land, collapsed and died on the courthouse steps in the early 1960's. Ervin was in his late 80's when he died. Governor Abbott speaks to parents in Athens, pushing for school choice Wade reflected on the first time he learned about the death of his great-grandfather as a boy and how it has profoundly impacted his life since then. 'I was just a little boy around somewhere. They told us that our great-grandfather had just collapsed at the steps of the courthouse and passed away with a heart attack upon hearing the sad news of losing some family property out in the country,' Wade said. During the sixties, Wade's great-grandfather was one of many black landowners who were discriminated against and lost land. Wade shared how the loss of his great-grandfather's land stripped his family of the opportunity to build generational wealth. 'It's hard to be able to do the things you want to do when you have been lost and been disconnected from your past. The knowledge of your past ancestors, and the wealth that your ancestors would have passed down to a generation,' Wade said. The courthouse steps are heavy with sorrow, and soon, the walls will crumble. Wade expressed his mixed emotions about the building's impending demolition. 'I had mixed emotions about it as a lot of people do. We know that time brings about a change, but some changes are good and some are bad and some have got a little of both,' Wade said. At one time during the era of segregation, the square served as a thriving center for the Black community. Black-owned businesses lined the streets, and it was once known as 'Black Wall Street.' Wade spoke about the amount of black history the community has lost, including the Henry Morgan Barber College and beauty school that were staples of education for people all over the country. 'It is black history that we have lost, particularly the Henry Morgan Barber College building and beauty school on top, where people were educated all over the United States and around the world,' Wade said. More than 600 grams of meth discovered in Kilgore drug raid Wade said throughout the years, 'Black Wall Street' was integrated and, overtime, black history was lost in the process. 'I can remember shopping over there at the Jet store, the Rodney Campbell store. We had what we call a picture show in which we have, you know, others around the Liberty, the Arcadia,' Wade said. A National Historical banner hangs where history has now been torn down, and a new courthouse will soon stand. Wade acknowledged how the community is losing a major part of their history. 'We are losing a major [piece of history], not just black history. We will lose a lot of history by demolishing that block,' Wade said. Wade said that as Smith County grows, everyone needs to grow with it, but never forget what was there in the first place. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
