U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta has introduced legislation directing the Department of the Interior to study whether Monterey’s Lower Presidio Historic Park should become a National Historic Park under the National Park Service.
The proposed American Sovereignty and Monterey Historic Military Site Study Act would require the Interior secretary to complete a special resource study within three years of funding and submit recommendations to Congress on preserving and interpreting the site, according to Panetta’s office.
Located within the Presidio of Monterey, the park contains more than 12,000 years of history, including its role as an Indigenous settlement, the site of the Spanish Presidio of Monterey, and the location where Commodore John Drake Sloat raised the American flag in 1846 during the U.S. acquisition of California.
The site also later served as a military installation for the Buffalo Soldiers and became home to what is now the Defense Language Institute.
Panetta said the legislation would begin the process of securing federal recognition and support for the park’s preservation.