After more than a century of trying, Georgia may soon get its first national park, as the state’s congressional delegation puts aside partisan differences to upgrade the status of ancient mounds in Macon.
That city, long a champion of promoting Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park into a major national attraction, has already begun adding street names in the language of the native peoples who dwelled there.
Thirteen of Georgia’s 14 Republican and Democratic representatives are co-sponsoring legislation that would convert the historical park into the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve.
Georgia’s two Democratic U.S. senators are behind an identical bill in the Senate. The current historical park would anchor the national park.
Proponents would raise money to buy another 7,100 acres, expanding the attraction to about 10,000 acres. This addition would be a federally managed preserve with fishing and hunting.
