Congress Passes Bill to Create Local National Heritage Area

Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area to Include Medford, Neighboring Communities

Senators John Kerry and Edward Kennedy, and Congressmen Ed Markey, Jim McGovern, Niki Tsongas and John Olver recently announced their legislation establishing the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area, which includes 37 communities in Massachusetts and eight communities in New Hampshire.  The bill is expected to be approved by President Barack Obama. 

“The Freedom’s Way National Heritage Act will bring countless economic benefits to the region and ensure that our children, and our children’s children will be able learn about one of the area’s that shaped our young nation,” said Senator Kerry.

“Our Commonwealth has an extraordinary history, and this National Heritage Area will enable students, residents and visitors to learn more about this unique history,” said Senator Kennedy.

“This bill will help preserve the unique history of New England , the birthplace of this great nation. The Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area will provide a much-needed boost to our local economy and ensure that future generations will be able to visit and learn about the communities in New England that shaped our nation,” said Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Malden).

The Heritage Area highlights the history of New England including colonial life, the American Revolution, and early social justice, religious, abolitionist, and conservationist movements. Significant examples of the area’s unique resources include Minute Man National Historical Park in Lexington and Concord, where the “shot heard ‘round the world was fired;” Walden Pond, which inspired Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman; and Shaker Villages in Shirley and Harvard.

The new heritage area will include Medford, Malden, and Arlington, as well as nearly 40 other communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

According to the National Heritage section of the National Park Service website, national heritage areas are geographically distinctive areas designated by Congress that tell “nationally important stories” about America through their natural, historic, and cultural resources.

National heritage areas have access to assistance and limited financial and technical support from the National Park Service. The land is locally-managed and is not owned by the National Park Service. The goal of the designation is to help communities better preserve these areas and increase cultural, recreational, and educational opportunities.

– InsideMedford.com