SENATE ADOPTS WILLIAMS RESOLUTION DISCOURAGING RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT WITHIN VALLEY FORGE NATIONAL PARK

HARRISBURG, Jan. 30, 2002 – The Pennsylvania Senate has adopted a resolution introduced by Sen. Constance H. Williams that would discourage a residential development within Valley Forge National Historical Park.

"The development would violate the spirit of the park," Williams (D-Montgomery/Delaware) said. "When the Commonwealth conveyed the park to the U.S. government in 1975 as part of the Bicentennial celebration, it was intended the land be used for historical purposes."

The resolution concerns a privately-owned 60-acre tract within the park’s boundaries. The developer had signed an agreement of sale for the site, but has publicly expressed a willingness to sell the property to the National Park Service, Williams said.

The resolution urges the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the land, and urges Congress to appropriate money for that purpose.

"Under the leadership of General George Washington and Baron von Steuben, 2,000 badly-equipped volunteer soldiers overcame cold, hunger and disease and were marshaled into an effective fighting force which helped defeat the British at Yorktown," Williams said. "Governor Samuel Pennypacker compared a visit to Valley Forge to a pilgrimage. I don’t think a housing development belongs in the middle of a shrine."