S. 136 – Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Boundary Adjustment Act

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Updated April 15, 2026 at 11:33 AM UTC

The bill would expand the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Georgia by adding about eight acres that contain the historic Wallis House and Harriston Hill. It aims to bring these Civil War‑era sites into the park so they can be preserved and managed as part of the battlefield. The change only applies to land that owners are willing to donate or exchange, and it does not allow the government to take the land by condemnation. The adjustment affects the National Park Service’s management of the park and any private owners of the added property.

Key Provisions

Expands the park’s boundary to include the Wallis House and Harriston Hill, roughly eight acres, as shown on a specific map filed with the National Park Service.
Allows the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the land only from willing owners, through donation or exchange, and requires written consent from owners.
Prohibits the use of eminent domain (condemnation) to acquire the land for this purpose.
Specifies that the added land will be administered as part of the park under existing laws and that the act does not create any buffer zone outside the park.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Energy and Natural Resources Committee

January 12, 2017

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

January 12, 2017

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Energy and Natural Resources Committee

January 12, 2017

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued January 12, 2017

II

115th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 136

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

January 12, 2017

Mr. Isakson (for himself and Mr. Perdue) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To adjust the boundary of the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park to include the Wallis House and Harriston Hill, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Boundary Adjustment Act .

2.

Findings

The Congress finds the following:

(1)

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park was authorized as a unit of the National Park System on June 26, 1935. Prior to 1935, parts of the park had been acquired and protected by Civil War veterans and the War Department.

(2)

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park protects Kennesaw Mountain and Kolb’s Farm, which are battle sites along the route of General Sherman’s 1864 campaign to take Atlanta.

(3)

Most of the park protects Confederate positions and strategy. The Wallis House is one of the few original structures remaining from the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain associated with Union positions and strategy.

(4)

The Wallis House is strategically located next to a Union signal station at Harriston Hill.

3.

Boundary adjustment; land acquisition; administration

(a)

Boundary adjustment

The boundary of the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park is modified to include the approximately 8 acres identified as Wallis House and Harriston Hill, and generally depicted on the map titled Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Proposed Boundary Adjustment, numbered 325/80,020, and dated February 2010.

(b)

Map

The map referred to in subsection (a) shall be on file and available for inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service.

(c)

Land acquisition

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to acquire, from willing owners only, land or interests in land described in subsection (a) by donation or exchange.

(d)

Administration of acquired lands

The Secretary of the Interior shall administer land and interests in land acquired under this section as part of the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

(e)

Written consent of owner

No non-Federal property may be included in the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park without the written consent of the owner. This provision shall apply only to those portions of the Park added under subsection (a).

(f)

No use of condemnation

The Secretary of the Interior may not acquire by condemnation any land or interests in land under this Act or for the purposes of this Act.

(g)

No buffer zone created

Nothing in this Act, the establishment of the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, or the management plan for the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park shall be construed to create buffer zones outside of the Park. That activities or uses can be seen, heard, or detected from areas within the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park shall not preclude, limit, control, regulate or determine the conduct or management of activities or uses outside the Park.