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Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-73not60

§450bb–4 Acceptance and Purchase of Lands and Improvements; Payment; Exchange of Lands

Title 16 › Chapter 1— NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES › Subchapter LXI— NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MONUMENTS AND MEMORIALS › § 450bb–4

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior can accept or buy lands and buildings in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, that were given under the Act of December 15, 1868 (15 Stat. 266) to the trustees of Storer College. He may take the trustees’ rights and pay up to the current fair market value for the improvements. He may buy lands the trustees later sold, but cannot pay more than what those owners paid plus the cost of their improvements, and never more than fair market value. He may also buy other college lands and up to seven acres of private land mixed in with them. Lands bought can be traded for other lands of about equal value that are part of the college site. To get the original site of John Brown’s “Fort” and the old Federal arsenal, the Secretary may trade federal park lands or land interests near Cumberland, Maryland, of about equal value if those park lands are no longer needed.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §450bb–4

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of the Interior may accept the conveyance of all right, title, and interest of the trustees of Storer College in and to the lands and improvements in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, granted to their predecessors for educational purposes pursuant to section 2 of the Act of December 15, 1868 (15 Stat. 266), upon payment to said trustees of not more than the current fair market value of the improvements located upon such lands. The Secretary may also purchase lands, interests therein, and improvements thereon, which lands were granted to the trustees of Storer College pursuant to such Act of 1868 and subsequently were alienated by the trustees: Provided, That he may pay not in excess of the amount paid therefor by the then owners plus the cost of existing improvements placed thereon by them, and, in no event may he pay more than the current fair market value. The Secretary may also purchase from the trustees of Storer College, at not more than their fair market value, other lands and interests in lands acquired by them or their predecessors as a part of the college site, together with any improvements thereon. In addition, up to seven acres of privately owned lands, interests therein, and improvements thereon, which are interspersed with the aforesaid college lands may be purchased by the Secretary. Lands and interests purchased under this subsection may be exchanged for other lands, and interests therein, of approximately equal value, which comprise the college and interspersed lands otherwise authorized herein for purchase.
(b)To facilitate the acquisition of the original site of the engine house known as John Brown’s “Fort” and the old Federal arsenal, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to exchange therefor federally owned park lands or interests in lands of approximately equal value in the vicinity of Cumberland, Maryland, which he finds are no longer required for park purposes.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 2 of the Act of December 15, 1868, referred to in subsec. (a), means act Dec. 15, 1868, ch. 2, § 2, 15 Stat. 266, which was not classified to the Code.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 450bb–4

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60