Legislative Summary
In 2002, Speaking to the United States Senate Energy and Resources Committee Subcommittee on National Parks, Senator Kerry said, in part:
“The history of the [Freedom’s Way] region, and its importance to our nation, is nearly unparalleled. These communities have been called the Landscape of American
Democracy, and that description is not an exaggeration by any means. More than
100 years before the American Revolution many of these cities and towns were inventing their own system of self-governance, one that embraced democracy, property rights, religious freedoms and equality. In other words, the same individual rights we cherish so passionately today.
“When the American Revolution started, the men of these cities and towns organized themselves into a militia and stood against the British regulars at
Lexington and Concord. The battle galvanized the colonies in the battle for independence. And when the women of these towns were called upon, they took up the cause just as forcefully. It was Prudence Wright and Lt. Sarah Shattuck who lead a women’s troop to capture a Tory spy in Pepperell.
“It was in Concord that one of the most famous lines in American history was spoken by Captain John Parker, when he called to his militia, ‘Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.’
“Various religions grew up throughout the region. The Shakers settled in
Harvard, Ayer and Shirley. The Millerites in Groton. Transcendentalist thinkers gathered in Harvard, Fruitlands and Concord. The St. Benedict’s Abbey of Harvard, a community of devout Jesuits, is still strong today Each of these faiths has impacted the region and the nation’s in its own way.
“Political and social movements flourished. Thinkers that have shaped our political foundation and our history wrote and taught in the towns of the proposed Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area. They include Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau and others. They nurtured movements for abolition, women’s suffrage, equality and conservation.
“Abolitionist Societies flourished, and within these towns are several stops on the Underground Railroad. Runaway slaves fleeing north for freedom hid in basements, caves and passageways in Fitchburg, Princeton and other towns.
“One can see today how many of these towns were planned and developed hundreds of years ago. Homes, churches, inns, taverns, government buildings and markets are clustered around the town commons. Once land for grazing animals, the commons are now shared space for communities to come together for recreation and celebration. In other towns, especially along the rivers, you can see the birth of industry in old mills. The shift from agrarian economies to industrial economies was started when waterpower forged metal and drove machines. You can see that transition in buildings that stand today.
“The natural and scenic values of the region are extraordinary. In the eastern region the suburban land outside Boston is broken with the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Walden Pond State Reservation, Minuteman National Historical Park and the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. The central region is a more rural landscape, with orchards, farmlands and river ways, and the Nashua River Greenway, Bolton Flats Wildlife Management Area and the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge. In the western region the hills begin to rise with the Mt. Wachusett State Reservation, Mt. Watatic and state forests.
“With all of these historic, cultural and natural qualities it easy to understand why the local support for a national heritage area designation is strong. The 45 cities and towns of the region have endorsed the effort. Massachusetts and New Hampshire have endorsed this proposal…. The Freedom’s Way Heritage Association is a vibrant organization, with strong local support, creative thinkers and exactly the kind of group needed to make the potential benefits in a national heritage area designation a reality….”